Carissa Hessick on Jan. 6 Plea Bargains
The Lawfare Podcast
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Is the Judge Just Deferring to the Parties?
A judge can only get a criminal conviction if he or she is willing to sign off on it. "i always get a little bit queazy when i hear the judge talking about deferring to the parties," says CNN's John Sutter. Judges are empowered to reject plea barguns, but they often don't do so for fear of looking too lenient and sending someone to jail. But judges clearly have a role that they can play, it's really just a question of whether they do play it."
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