Punishment Without Trial
Why Plea Bargaining Is a Bad Deal
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Narrated by:
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Christina Delaine
About this listen
When Americans think of the criminal justice system, the image that comes to mind is a trial-a standard courtroom scene with a defendant, attorneys, a judge, and most important, a jury. It's a fair assumption.
But in Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining Is a Bad Deal, University of North Carolina law professor Carissa Byrne Hessick shows that the popular conception of a jury trial couldn't be further from reality. That bedrock constitutional right has all but disappeared thanks to the unstoppable march of plea bargaining, which began to take hold during Prohibition and has skyrocketed since 1971, when it was affirmed as constitutional by the Supreme Court.
Nearly every aspect of our criminal justice system encourages defendants-whether innocent or guilty-to take a plea deal. Punishment Without Trial showcases how plea bargaining has undermined justice at every turn and across socioeconomic and racial divides. It forces the hand of lawyers, judges, and defendants, turning our legal system into a ruthlessly efficient mass incarceration machine that is dogging our jails and punishing citizens. Professor Hessick makes the case against plea bargaining as she illustrates how it has damaged our justice system while presenting an innovative set of reforms for how we can fix it.
©2021 Carissa Byrne Hessick (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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What went wrong in the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial? Former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi dares to lay bare the bungling he perceived in the case. Incriminating evidence was never presented and lapses in strategy left prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden at a disadvantage. These are just a few of the fatal errors that led to a victory for the defense.
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Rip-off
- By Andrew Kelly on 05-21-19
By: Vincent Bugliosi
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How to Read the Constitution - and Why
- By: Kim Wehle
- Narrated by: Kim Wehle
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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The Constitution is the most significant document in America. But do you fully understand what this valuable document means to you? In How to Read the Constitution - and Why, legal expert and educator Kimberly Wehle spells out in clear, simple, and common-sense terms what is in the Constitution and most importantly, what it means. In compelling terms and including text from the United States Constitution, she describes how the Constitution’s protections are eroding.
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very biased
- By Anonymous User on 01-25-20
By: Kim Wehle
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The Case Against the Democratic House Impeaching Trump
- By: Alan Dershowitz
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 2018 best seller The Case Against Impeaching Trump, Alan Dershowitz lamented how American political discourse has devolved into hypocrisy and the criminalization of political differences. Arguments to impeach Trump failed Dershowitz’s “shoe on the other foot test”, or his political golden rule: Democrats must do unto Republicans what they would have Republicans do unto them, and vice versa. Since then, we’ve only become more divided. The Case Against the Democratic House Impeaching Trump includes and expands upon Dershowitz’s 2018 book.
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Excellent
- By Amazon Customer on 06-01-19
By: Alan Dershowitz
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Unwarranted
- Policing Without Permission
- By: Barry Friedman
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In June 2013, documents leaked by Edward Snowden sparked widespread debate about secret government surveillance of Americans. Just over a year later, the shooting of Michael Brown, a black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, set off protests and triggered concern about militarization and discriminatory policing. In Unwarranted, Barry Friedman argues that these two seemingly disparate events are connected - and that the problem is not so much the policing agencies as it is the rest of us.
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Insightful book
- By laserpro on 03-02-17
By: Barry Friedman
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None of the Above
- The Untold Story of the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal, Corporate Greed, and the Criminalization of Educators
- By: Shani Robinson, Anna Simonton
- Narrated by: Lisa Renee Pitts
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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An insider’s account of the infamous Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal that scapegoated black employees for problems caused by an education reform movement that is increasingly a proxy for corporate greed.
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A well constructed story
- By Sumo Steve on 03-21-19
By: Shani Robinson, and others
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Policing the Black Man
- Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment
- By: Angela J. Davis - editor
- Narrated by: Robin Miles, Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Policing the Black Man explores and critiques the many ways the criminal justice system impacts the lives of African American boys and men at every stage of the criminal process, from arrest through sentencing. Essays range from an explication of the historical roots of racism in the criminal justice system to an examination of modern-day police killings of unarmed black men.
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A Book Every Young White Male Should Read
- By danielwead on 08-04-17
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Fight Back and Win
- My 30-Year Fight Against Injustice and How You Can Win Your Own Battles
- By: Gloria Allred
- Narrated by: Gloria Allred
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Abridged
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Fearless lawyer, feminist, activist, television and radio commentator, warrior, advocate, and winner, Gloria Allred is all of these things and more. Voted by her peers as one of the best lawyers in America, and described by Time as "one of the nation's most effective advocates of family rights and feminist causes", Allred has devoted her career to fighting for civil rights across boundaries of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, and social class.
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Amazing book, amazing woman.
- By Hope on 04-05-12
By: Gloria Allred
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Blood in the Water
- The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
- By: Heather Ann Thompson
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 22 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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On September 9, 1971, nearly 1,300 prisoners took over the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York to protest years of mistreatment. Holding guards and civilian employees hostage, the prisoners negotiated with officials for improved conditions during the four long days and nights that followed. On September 13, the state abruptly sent hundreds of heavily armed troopers and correction officers to retake the prison by force. Their gunfire killed 39 men - hostages as well as prisoners.
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Tragic Events, Well-Told
- By David on 10-27-17
What listeners say about Punishment Without Trial
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- jassen woodall
- 10-28-24
very interesting and informative
loaded with information and things I never knew i didn't know. it got me thinking differently about the cash bail system something I didn't except. it actually gave me an entirely different prospect on the criminal and civil law system than I had going into this book.
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Near perfect look at a broken even corrupt system!
This book and it's subject matter are critically important to understanding the major cause of mass incarceration in the US today. Prosecutor's have unchecked power to act without consequence as judge jury and executioner in over 97% of cases that pass through our criminal courts today and have a developed a culture of "win at all costs" within their offices and chains of command. The 97% is the number of criminal cases in this country that are settled WITHOUT a trial! The court system does not give most defendants a fighting chance and only 2-3 people out of every hundred have the guts to challenge the system though they are often treated as if they are mentally unstable when they do because it has become "crazy" to challenge the wheels of justice and everybody involved assumes those wheel are going roll right over you. What's sad is they are right to h have that opinion because it's based on facts. They way the system has evolved over time as is detailed in this book literally has gone in the opposite direction of it's original intent to find out the truth and dispense justice accordingly. We are not at a point where at nearly every turn citizens are being forced to sign away constitutional rights, get bullied into pleading guilty often without seeing the evidence against them or being able to consult with an attorney and then on top of all of it, lie to the court and say no threats or promises were made to get them to agree to the appeal or the court will not accept it! This happens all day every day in courts in every single state in the country and all of the parties (often accept the defendants) are fully aware of the grand deception taking place. When defendants want to exercise their right to a trial they are flat out told they will get a much more severe sentence if they exercise that right (on average 2-3 times as long as if they did not have a trial) which is absurd as this book points out! Would we punish someone for exercising any other rights? Would we routinely demand citizens sign away these rights as part of a strategy to fight for their very lives? This book as well as a few of the others i have reviewed recently will provide the kind of information every American needs to have in order to understand what our own government is acting out as our public servants! These people are supposed to be there to work for us and keep the public safe but it doesn't seem that is what their jobs are about anymore. Check out the book and decide for yourselves. It's time to wake up people!!
If I was going to make any criticism of this book it would be that there hasn't been anyone. including the author who has explored the consequences of so called "pre-trial monitoring" and how reporting to these programs is often a requirement of bail/bond and can often be more stringent and intrusive than even probation and parole. though you are still technically innocent you must report as much as 1-2 times per week during business hours which means time off of work, you are subjected to monitoring by agencies I have nicknamed "The Peelice" (because their primary function is pee testing you) for constant UA drug tests which I have personally found humiliating. The procedure in Milwaukee county requires you to pull your pants to your knees, pull your shit up to your breasts then spin in a complete circle and then hold one hand up as you take the cup with the other and then try to urinate. If that is not enough then imagine adding to that a worker who feels she needs to squat down about 3 feet in from of you and stare at your genitals as you try to go! If you refuse or can't go it is considered a failure of a UA and for any failed tests (as well as a variety of other violations of the programs rules) you are immediately dragged before your judge who must now squeeze you into an already overflowing schedule to explain yourself and your "bail jumping" to them. You cannot predict what is going to happen. Could be jail. could be a demand for more bail. could be some other punishment ordered or it could be nothing. That's just it is that you never know so you feel as though your life is hanging on by a thread every time you have to report to these people. It makes many people take plea deals in the same way being in jail pretrial does. It is often used by prosecutors as a tool to press for a plea deal because they know people with certain mental health or addiction issues of those who live in certain areas where stop and frisks are used regularly that there is good chance someone with these circumstances will make a mistake and they can then threaten felony bail jumping charges get added on which they can easily get a conviction on if the defendant even the innocent do not agree to the plea they are being offered. It's a common everyday occurrence. These pretrial monitoring programs often treat the innocent worse than a PO does someone who has plead guilty, They shouldn't be allowed to demand so much from people who have to be presumed innocent! Check stubs, bank statements, medical information including any and all RX medication to name a few things all becomes part of your criminal case information! YOUR ONLY ALTERNATIVE IS JAIL! you cannot refuse these programs if you want to get out. So I would like the author or future authors to please investigate pretrial monitoring because as I have pointed out here it's a serious part of the problem!
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- RT
- 05-25-22
A must read
This book outlines both the problems and best solutions to fixing our justice system. Implementing sone of these solutions will give our country the freedom and equality our country has always promised.
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- MJW
- 12-29-21
Important to know about our justice system
A well researched look at crime and punishment and the distortions caused by plea bargaining in the United States. Well narrated. Important information we should know as informed citizens.
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- Angela Landa
- 04-24-22
Exactly what to expect from a non-practicing academic
I was assigned to read this for a class and really TRIED to go into it with an open mind, but she started out with a story about how unreasonable to her it seemed that a defendant would plead guilty and serve 10 years for a murder he didn’t do. I interned at an innocence project and a simple Google search of their work would show that this is a reality. She ends the book talking about this same defendant and that she went to go ask him if he regretted it- fully expecting him to say yes. He did not and she asked him 3 times because she wanted the perfect quote to encapsulate her book. One of these times being after he told her that he didn’t want to dwell on the past and had come to peace with it. This cruel disregard for the realities of those brought into the criminal legal system is what you can expect from this book.
To be fair, there were several ideas that I thought were good suggestions. Bail reform and the two prosecutors she discussed towards the end of the chapter prior to the conclusion. However, the author simply could not fathom/adjust her hypothesis: trials is the constitutional right guaranteed and trials disrupt that. Even though she was unable to explain how a trial guarantees more Justice when we take into account jury biases, underfunded public defenders representing, unfair judges, etc. She recognized the ideas by progressive prosecutors dismissing and presenting fair pleas as the best idea, but just could not actually adjust the narrative in the end.
Lastly, just like not good writing in general. Her writing makes me believe she came into this with stories she wanted to share and was never able to actually figure out how they fit/affected the system so she just threw them in anyways. Example being the girl that got a deferred sentence but no one (the author included because she didn’t know what it is and didn’t. Take time to find out for defendant) explained what that meant to the defendant and it was a very good outcome but if the defendant violated the deferred sentencing she would be sentenced. I fully expected a story where the girl was negatively impacted by getting a deferred sentence but the author just shared the story…. Just because? No actual pros or cons attached to her personal narrative.
If you want to know best about what punishment without trial defendants in our country have, read The New Jim Crow, follow a public defender on Twitter, or just talk to someone that agreed to an unfair plea they took- all are more credible than this book.
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