Changing of the Gavel by Timothy Lynch
Although the Constitution speaks of jury trials, they are, in reality, a rarity in the modern system. Some 97 percent of the persons sentenced in federal court enter into plea bargains with prosecutors. No judge or jury weighs their fate.

We have essentially adopted a system of charge-and-sentence bargaining. This state of affairs should trouble people on all points of the political spectrum.

- posted by SARTRE @ 7:07 PM