NCJ Number
112948
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 52 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1988) Pages: 72-80
Date Published
1988
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Both adult plea bargaining and juvenile intake function to negotiate discretionary justice.
Abstract
They both create formal settings in which individuals presumed to be guilty are 'convinced' to agree 'voluntarily' to the officials' resolution of their cases or face the potentially harsher consequences of formal processing. Individual rights are at best ignored or at worst denied. The only beneficiaries of these negotiations are the judges, who are relieved of having to preside over the majority of cases that enter the adult and juvenile justice systems. In both processes, questions over the degree to which equal protection and due process rights are violated are a constant concern. Both processes are structually compatible with the coercion of admissions of guilt. Corruption of democratic ideals impacts both processes. During juvenile intake, as in adult plea negotiations, discretionary justice is negotiated. Justice for all juveniles is reduced to matters of dealing and settling by state officials who are permitted to exercise their discretion indiscriminately. 43-item bibliography.