This show is scheduled to air in most areas on Thursday, June 17, at 9pm.

This should be ... interesting ...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/plea/

"It is the centerpiece of America's judicial process: the trial by jury system that places a defendant's fate in the hands of a jury of one's peers. But just how many citizens are aware that nearly 95 percent of all people who are convicted of felonies never reach a jury, but instead their cases are settled through plea bargains? To overworked and understaffed defense lawyers, prosecutors, and jurists, plea bargains are the safety valve that keeps cases moving through our backlogged courts. Critics, however, contend that the push to resolve cases through plea bargains jeopardizes the constitutional rights of defendants, who may be pressured to admit their guilt whether they're guilty or not. In this 90-minute documentary, FRONTLINE explores the moral, judicial, and constitutional implications of relying on plea bargains to expedite justice."

And here's more:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/press/2215.html

"The real American justice system is unlike anything depicted on Law & Order and Court TV," says Ofra Bikel, producer of the 90-minute FRONTLINE� documentary, "The Plea," which premieres Thursday, June 17, at 9 P.M. on PBS (check local listings). "I know I was stunned when I realized that only about 5 percent of all felony convictions result from jury trials. The rest are settled by plea bargains. And these deals aren't always to the defendant's advantage."

Uh, and your point is ...?

I guess we know which way this show is headed ...

I suppose it would be foolhardy to presume that, within this latest breaking news on the trampling upon the rights of the innocent that there will be some mention of the fact that our justice system operates under the ideal that a defendant will be afforded a fair trial, not an advantageous one.

Did they mention The Perfect Plea?

If they interview all of the innocent persons in prison who pleaded guilty, it should be a rather long program.

In my personal experience of many years of defending the accused I do not recall ever pressuring a client who asserted his innocence into pleading guilty. But I also only recall about two or three who made such assertions. Maybe I was a poor attorney who just could not understand what they were trying to say, but as Judge Kleinfeld accurately noted in his opinion in Miranda v. Clark County: "If the police, prosecutors, and grand jury are doing their screening jobs well, the . . . defender should have few innocent clients." I personally think juries would almost always be swayed by the same things that might mislead the police, prosecutors, and grand jury. If we want a costlier, more tedious, system that frees more guilty persons (including those who would be willing to admit their guilt), then I assume Frontline is headed in the right direction.

When I was a defense attorney, and had learned what all of the evidence was (and maybe got my client to quit lying to me), I laid it out for the defendant, including sentencing options, and my opinion as to what his or her chances were in a trial. Common sense usually prevailed.

All plea bargains in some degree inure to the benefit of the D. If they did not, the D would not plead.

Well Shannon, you goaded me into watching the program and I must say Texas cases got the limelight. Generally I like PBS programs (including Frontline), but this one will be a clear exception. What a farce. I guess if any of those law professors had offered a better way to resolve criminal charges than balancing the carrots and sticks I might have found something worthwhile in the endeavor. And I thought "documentary" was supposed to be non-fiction.

Martin, I'm kicking myself for not posting my pre-airing prediction, which was that there would be plenty of whining but no actual suggestions on how to make things better. Typical.

Why is it that the only prosecutors who appeared on the show were from Texas? Kudos to those who stepped forward to give their side of the story (what wasn't left on the cutting-room floor, that is). I wonder why the NY prosecutors weren't shown?

Finally, I noted with interest the NY case in which the judge was heavily involved in pleading out the case. I thought that was meant as another fine argument in favor of jury sentencing, but not according to two of the talking-head professors on the show, who advocate more bench trials and fewer pleas:

See "Can the System Be Fixed?" (bottom of link)

Some solution ...

Actually, Plan B may have some merit. I see no particular problem with modifying the jury selection process (especially cutting down on the number peremptory challenges) and uncomplicating the rules of evidence and otherwise streamlining jury trials (e.g. by allowing 11-1 or 10-2 verdicts). Those things would seem to favor the party with the burden of proof more often than not.

On a somewhat related theme: did Townsend's article in this month's bar journal concerning the need for greater proactive control by our trial judges over improper jury argument resonate with anyone trying criminal cases? I get so frustrated when a proper objection is made and the court merely tells the jury to remember the evidence. If some defense attorneys were actually dressed down occasionally (even without the need for the objection), fairness and logic might prevail.

Lawyers flatter themselves when they think their arguments change the outcome.

The whole Frontline show was a bunch of whiners. I got sick of it about halfway into it and turned the sound off. And why do the people who make these shows always have to find the dumbest person alive who says, "I didn't understand what I was pleading to." Could that woman in the Hearne housing project have been more pathetic? Besides, everyone knows there are no drug dealers in housing projects! She was innocent!

Perhaps the Legislature would entertain the thought of a new crime: perjury by defendant on public television with a special enhancement for excessive whining.

I agree with the post above in that I usually like Frontline, but The Plea was nothing but a load of left-wing, ivy league crap. First, the only people they interviewed were law professors. Law profs don't know anything about practicing law. If they did, they would be practicing. Why didn't we have any interviews of prosecutors of national prominence? Easy answer...Frontline was going to present only one side of the story. Second, none of those ivy league law profs mentioned the fact that if everyone got the trial they are "entitled to," the entire criminal justice system would implode.

Plea bargains are necessary because jury trials are so extraordinarily complex and expensive. In Texas, a simple felony jury trial takes about three days of courtroom time. It involves about 60--90 people having to drop what they are doing to answer a jury summons, of which 12 will serve an additional two days. The safeguards to jury error and misconduct are many--this is why voir dire takes so long and is so tedious--and yet jury error is very common.

Many of the rules of evidence are predicated on the assumption that jurors cannot be trusted with certain information. Recently a case was reversed by the CCA simply because the jury was shown a photo of the fetus killed by the defendant.

But there is a solution. Abolish juries, and have your cases heard by professional magistrates. This was the system when I prosecuted in Zimbabwe. Instead of a trial taking 3 days, we usually tried 3 cases a day. And during the 2 years I prosecuted there, we spent Zero time in "pre-trial conferances" or in "pre-trial hearings"--we spent our time putting on evidence instead. Never was their a reversal because a magistrate was shown a photo.

At a fraction of the cost of the US system, the Zimbo criminal justice system provided far more justice. But the US 6th Amend. right to a jury trial stands in the way. I wonder if those professors and Frontline journalists are willing to abolish the 6th amendment, so everyone can have his day in trial.

Did anyone videotape the show? I would like to use some clips in an upcoming presentation at the Advanced Criminal Law Course on Pleas.

I found a copy. Thanks, jb

Where can I find a copy of this?