Although this topic remains controversial, the Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected arguments regarding the unconstitutionality of plea bargaining (Plea Bargaining, 2009). Plea bargains do not require that a defendant waive the three constitutional rights protected by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments and therefore I find that overall, plea bargaining is right and proper (Plea bargain, 2009). Two key Supreme Court cases help …show more content…
United States, 397 U.S. 742 (1970) is a great example plea bargaining and regarding a person’s constitutional rights. In Brady, the court held that waivers must be both ‘voluntary’ and ‘intelligent’. Furthermore, Brady resulted in the voluntariness involving a plea of guilt be governed by standards (Brady v. United States, 1970). Therefore, these standards allow for a judge to consider and examine the totality of circumstances involved in the case to further ensure that the plea is voluntary, intelligently given, and knowingly made, prior to accepting a plea of guilt from the accused standards (Brady v. United States, 1970). Then in McCarthy v. United States 394 U.S. 459 (1969), the Supreme Court added that in order for a person to plead guilty, that person must know the consequences involved in doing so; referring to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal