Video 2 Questions and responses PDF

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Video #2 Response Casey Skomer October 30, 2014 CRJU1100 - Section DA1

Frontline: The Plea http://video.pbs.org/video/2216784391/ * Your computer must have either Windows Media Player or RealPlayer to play the video. * Respond to these short-answer questions in critical essay format, with complete sentences and at least one paragraph [50 words or more] per response.

1. Do you agree with Judge Caprice Cosper that “the system would just entirely collapse” if every case in the criminal justice system received a trial by jury? Why or why not? Judge Cooper’s statement that “the system would entirely collapse” if every case was met by a trial and jury makes me question her credibility and confuses me as to what “system” she could possibly be referring to because she definitely doesn’t mean the justice system. The American courts system was established to protect and uphold justice of every citizen and many amendments, mainly the 8th and 14th, in the Constitution further protect our liberties, which specifically guarantee us the right to trial by a jury of our peers in any jurisdiction. The criminal justice system could never “collapse” if every case was heard by a jury, but it could be tremendously swamped with cases and be backed up for years into the future. The only “system” that would collapse would be the corrupted nature of many jurisdictions that values profit and revenue over ensuring justice to all citizens. 2. Do you believe court-appointed lawyers/public defenders help or hurt whom they are appointed to? Use the experiences of Regina Kelly and Erma Stewart as examples. Based on evidence from the cases of Regina Kelly and Erma Stewart, court appointed lawyers and public defenders seem to not care about the individuals they represent, but more about pushing cases through the system as fast as possible. Both women stated that their lawyers came to them with plea bargains of probation, without even hearing their stories first. It is a fact that many public defense attorneys are often covering many different cases at the same time and always have more piling up on their desks, but for them to not even care to learn their clients’ names for the duration of the case and blatantly disrespect them as people is despicable to think of. I know I can’t make a generalization about all public defenders based on a few highlighted cases, and some lawyers actually work based on their human morals, but these cases and “The Plea” all together lead me to believe that the people in the criminal justice system are more corrupt than society is lead to believe they are. 3. Do you agree with Steve Bright, Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, that people who plead guilty, are convicted and then placed on probation are “set up to fail?” Why or why not? Use the experience of Michael Wells as an example. I don’t believe that every person who is convicted and allowed probation is “set up to fail,” depending on social and economic class. However, I do agree that the majority of parolees, especially poor minorities, are doomed to be stuck in the revolving door of the criminal justice system for years to come, if not the rest of their lives. Michael Wells was poor to begin with, but when he was convicted

for a drug crime, on parole, then brought in for more suspected drug activity, he was in violation of his first parole and then faced more charges. Steve Bright summarizes the sad situation of probation, and all the fees that come with it, for impoverished people to basically be “a high interest loan that will never be paid off,” and that couldn’t be more true. 4. What is your reaction to the remaining Hearne “drug bust” cases that were dismissed after the informant was found not to be credible? What does this say about those who did plea bargain? The fact that those who plead guilty with a plea bargain, and when the case was dropped where still considered guilty is horrible. Erma Stewart, along with many others who were still technically convicted, were released from prison before the case was dismissed by accepting a plea bargain of 10 years probation, but faced even more misery in society. Erma was ineligible for food stamps and financial school funding, evicted because she couldn’t pay rent, couldn’t vote, and became extremely depressed and suicidal. The Hearne drug bust cases show me that courts in many jurisdictions have become a financially run institutions that only care about the money they squeeze out of defendants. Altogether, this construct in courts conflicts with the basic pursuit of justice, and demands to changed. 5. Do you believe that defendants should always have a role in plea bargaining discussions, or should such discussions only involve judges, lawyers and/or victims. Use the experience of Charles Gampero, Jr. as an example. I do believe that plea bargaining should always involve the defendant, along with his/her lawyer, the judge, the victims, and their lawyers. Not one person that will be involved or affected by the plea should be left out of the concerning discussions. Charlie Gampero was not told of his plea bargain until he got to his trial, and he was never asked to tell his side of the story. He was considered guilty of murder without any presentation of solid evidence. Gampero was basically forced to accept his plea bargain, which is technically allowed according to the Bordenkircher v. Hayes Supreme Court case, even though he was innocent. 6. What is your reaction to Kerry Max Cook’s “no contest” plea? I think it is understandable that Cook refused to accept a guilty plea, since he was technically innocent, it’s just that there was no evidence to prove so, until after he accepted the no contest plea. Cook had already been incarcerated for 22 years for a crime he didn’t commit, and said all he had left was his integrity and there would be no way he’d let the court take that by confessing to murder and rape. However, the prosecutor and Cook’s defense worked out a deal that Cook could go free if he said he was guilty, even though he didn’t do it, through a no contest plea, established by the North Carolina v. Alford Supreme Court case. I feel very sympathetic for Cook because by accepting the no contest plea, he is technically a convicted murderer, even after evidence has been discovered to prove him completely innocent. 7. What is your reaction to Kelly Jarrett’s decision to not take a plea bargain? Kelly Jarrett is a very strong woman for not accepting the plea bargain because she refuses to admit to a crime she is completely innocent of. However, her case is very sad because she has spent the majority of her life in prison, when she could have made a life for herself with the sweetest intentions to join the convent. Jarrett’s commitment to honesty is so admirable because even though she was offered her freedom, she still viewed accepting the plea bargain as lying and fraud, and says she “wouldn’t be able to live with herself” if she did accept it. I believe that Kelly Jarrett had absolutely no involvement with

the case she was convicted of, but the corruption in the criminal justice system has completely won with her case because they convicted an innocent person, and made themselves look good. 8. Based on these cases, what is your opinion of plea bargaining overall? Is it necessary in some cases or is it a coercive tactic? Overall, I see plea bargaining as a corrupt way for officials of the criminal justice who are focused on pushing cases through as fast as possible to make examples of people who don’t accept them deter future defendants from refusing bargains and going to trial. Plea bargaining can make people’s lives easier by giving them lesser sentences, but it forces them to admit to every detail of crimes they often didn’t do, and face the miserable consequences in the real world because of their public criminal record. In my opinion, the convictions established by plea bargains are just as irreversible as the death penalty because even when cases are dropped, the defendant is forever labeled as a guilty criminal and is doomed to the judgment and restriction of rights on society for the rest of his or her life. Accepting plea bargains might be even worse than executed death penalties because more innocent people accept plea bargains than the number of innocent people who are put to death by the criminal justice system....