Plea Bargains

What can be done to improve this important and problematic practice?

There are problems with the overwhelming prevalence of plea bargaining.

Congratulations to both the promising young lawyer and the prosecution and putting this unfortunate episode to rest.

The decision to plead guilty is often made in the dark, based on fear and a shortage of information. Why does this happen?

Should information relating to plea negotiations be kept confidential?

A look at one federal judge's proposal to reform the criminal justice system and the responses it has generated.

An innovative solution to the unilateral prosecutorial control of plea bargains.

* I’m not sure what it takes to be a top “Global Thinker,” but I’m sure these law professors are worthy. [Volokh Conspiracy] * Good to see that I’m not the only one who gets crazy pitch letters from lawyers. [Popehat] * If somehow this results in a Simpsons episode where the 11th Circuit rules on whether or not the family can have another Snowball, I’ll be happy. [Find Law] * No joke, the “things you can’t do on a plane” series is probably my favorite thing in the blawgosphere right now. [Legal Blog Watch] * Keith Magness, the lawyer accused of masturbating on the office furniture of girls in his firm, entered Alford pleas. But the pleas kind of stuck together. [Times-Picayune] * But really, how is anybody going to get trial experience if everybody is entering pleas all the time? [Underdog] * Could a benevolent monopolist fix legal education? Perhaps. But I’d vote for a malevolent blogger instead. [lawprofblog] * This law student is worried about the tax implications of getting free donuts. He’d better be worried about letting me know that he can get donuts whenever he wants. (Yes, I make the jokes so you can’t hurt me, then go home to bacon-wrapped, fried steak wedges, which don’t judge). [Tax Prof Blog] * I was on Geraldo at Large for about 30 seconds this weekend telling a gun range owner that guns should be regulated while standing in the middle of his gun store. I wore bright orange because, well, I didn’t want to get shot. [Geraldo at Large]

A former Lawyer of the Day has been sentenced to some rather stinky community service.