Studoc crju movie opinion PDF

Preview

Summary

Analyzing the documentary “the plea” which talks about how 90% of cases get a plea deal, even if the people didn’t commit the crime. Sometimes, it’s easier to give a guilty plea than go through the potential trial....

Description

The first thing I noticed about the plea documentary was that the beginning credits are very ominous and leave a mysterious air to the video. It interested me in the stories that would eventually come. I have always watched crime shows such as law and order or criminal minds, so I was very shocked when I found out that about 95% of people convicted of crimes give up their right to a trial by jury and just plea guilty. As they said in the documentary, that part of the legal system is sadly not as interesting so it’s not obvious in the shows. However, although it’s a sad part of the legal system, I do think it would be bad for pleas to go away because our entire system would collapse if every crime had to go to trial. There simply isn’t enough time, money, or people to try every single crime. I do believe plea bargains are a necessary evil, it’s just sad when people think that is their only possible way out. Erma Stewart’s story saddened me because she made it obvious that it was hard for her to understand all of the court talk and what would be happening, however, the lawyer didn’t seem to care. There are issues within our justice system of overloading court appointed lawyers. I don’t think it’s fair for the clients themselves or even the lawyers that they have so many people to represent. It doesn’t give them enough time to know the clients or be able to wholeheartedly fight for someone they don’t really know. How is the lawyer supposed to argue that a client isn’t guilty if they have never met or spoken to the person in real life? Although this isn’t necessarily the lawyer’s fault, it’s appalling that he couldn’t even find or remember having a file for Erma. Does the outcome of people’s lives really matter so little that there isn’t even any documentation on what happened to her? I also felt bad for Regina, because she obviously could tell what was going on and had wanted to speak with her lawyer about her role in the community and how she wouldn’t be selling drugs, but the attorney refused to listen and always made up excuses. Also, I was surprised when Erma said the officer arresting her didn’t tell her why she was being arrested. It is part of our rights to know why we are being arrested. As sad as it is, underprivileged or poor communities don’t get correct or fair representation. Their lawyers are so busy that it’s simply easier for them to try and get their clients the best guilty plea as possible instead of having to go through time consuming trials with all their clients. Erma couldn’t even really understand what the lawyer was saying to her but ended up taking the guilty plea to get back to her sick son. The attorney basically lied and took advantage of her situation by saying she could do five years of probation, and then when she agreed, said she would actually need to do ten. It’s just sad that this would be the only way for Erma to get back to her own family, especially when probation comes with a lot of issues on its own. If these people can’t afford private lawyers and need to have court appointed ones, who is to say that they are able to pay the probation fees or fines? And then when they don’t pay, have to come back to court again and potentially get more jail time than the original charge. It’s just a sad cycle for these people and I feel bad because, in Erma and Regina’s case, they never did anything wrong to provoke this happening. The heartbreaking part of this entire story is that the court found out that the witness was unreliable and dropped the charges on the people still in jail. However, Erma and Regina, who had both already pleaded guilty to have their charges reduced, still had to stay on probation since they already pleaded. Erma even said how she thinks a lot about killing herself given that she is homeless, can’t get food stamps, and has no way of

helping out her children. It is sad that this institution which is meant to be in place to help and protect its citizens would be the reason that some are ending their own life. The court can’t both be trying to make money as well as trying to get justice for people, those two don’t coincide with each other. The second story about Charlie was upsetting to me because they never questioned him or attempted to get his side of the story. How can you put someone in jail for 21 years without even asking them their recollection of what had happened that night? Charlie had felt pressured because the judge in question tends to give maximum sentences, so if he ended up going to trial, he could’ve potentially gotten life instead of seven years like the plea had offered. The judge didn’t even think about whether or not he was guilty, rather how many years he would inevitably give this man. I think this type of justice system is incredibly flawed. It seems to be more guilty until proven innocent rather than innocent until proven guilty. It’s crazy to think that simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time could end up in jail time. Court systems are supposed to be fair places where a judge and jury can decide whether the defendant is guilty, not how much the defendant should have to pay for possibly committing a crime. This documentary really opened my eyes about the hard decision that people don’t really talk about as much within the legal system. I never really knew that pleas were such a controversial topic until now. It makes me upset that some believe this is their only way of seeing their loved ones and family again by admitting to a crime that they never committed.

-

the beginning credits are ominous about 95% of people convicted give up right to trial and plea guilty - lesser sentence or reduced charge the system would collapse - necessary evil/ component - we don’t have the means necessary to try every single felony

Erma Stewart arrested - never told her why she was arrested → illegal you have to know why you are being arrested and know your rights - drug felony charges based on an unreliable source - Regina’s court appointed lawyer didn’t have time to listen to her story or get to know her as a person → can you really fight for someone and try to convince others they aren’t guilty if you haven’t even been able to talk to them yourself - lawyers urging them to take the probation - Erma’s court appointed lawyer couldn’t find a file on her and didn’t remember representing her → I feel bad because these underprivileged people don’t get correct or fair representation → she even said she'd need the lawyer to break it down for her because she couldn’t understand very well - because these lawyers are so busy, it’s easy for them to try and get

people the best guilty plea as possible instead of having to go through multiple trials for all of their clients - not unusual for lawyers to not know their clients names since they have such a high volume of people - lawyer doesn’t know anyone’s stories - Erma wasn’t guilty but she was willing to plea guilty because she is a single mom and had to go home to her kids → her son was sick - the attorney basically lied to her and told her she could take five but then when she agreed to it, he told her that she needed to take the ten year probation → she took it so that she’d be able to go home to her kids - a lot of people plead guilty to go home that day with probation - 4 mil ppl in probation - fines, probation fees, - failure to pay will lead the people back to court and probably be faced with more prison time than they would’ve had originally found out that the witness was unreliable but the guilty charges still stood → sad because these people only pleaded guilty for their own benefit and now that everything is being dismissed, they still have to pay -

people believe killing themself is the only way of getting out of the financial obligation to the court profit is in conflict with justice erma will be under probation for 7 more years

Charlie was never questioned -

they told his dad about the plea bargain didn’t think to ask about the problem 7-21 years because they agreed on a manslaughter charge judge didnt wanna know if he was innocent he said if he went to trial the judge would give him the maximum years...