It's Plea Agreement for God Sakes!!! Stop saying settlement MSM!!!

[MSgt213]

A settlement is reached in a civil case. This is not a civil case it's crimminal.

[napi21]

1. Actually, it's both. The settlement part is the $30,000.

The plea part is both the $30,000 penalty payment, AND the acreement that the Prescription Drug Fraud charge would be dropped IF he remains clean for 18 months and continues to attend the rehab classes.

[MSgt213]

2. I'm sorry, but your wrong. There is ab

The plea agreement process is where the prosecutor, the defense, and the judiciary agree to bypass trial and exchange a guilty plea for the same or in some cases a lesser sentence. The plea agreement process is a vital one to our judicial system; 95% of the cases in the nation are adjudicated by plea negotiations. Plea bargaining is important because it allows the prosecutor to process more cases in less time, and to save judicial resources.

A settlement agreement is where to litigants (people suing each other) reach an agreement before or during a civil trial to end the litigation.

[Dudley_DUright]

6. This is the first plea agreement I have ever seen where

the perp gets to plead "not guilty."

[htuttle]

3. He 'copped a plea'....

...as you would say in the common vernacular.

[pnwmom]

4. But what I don't get is why they're letting him plead not guilty?

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Without knowing more about the case, I have a theory.

Prosecutors prefer a "sure thing", that is, a conviction no matter what. If a charge is downgraded, it's still a conviction even if it's a plea bargain.

If they stick to the original charge and even if they get a conviction, the conviction can always be appealed, and perhaps overturned, thus negating all that effort. A plea deal is equivalent to the saying "A bird in the hand is worth two in the *" (Sorry for the pun.)

And with regard to a plea deal, the convicted defendant can't easily change his mind about the guilty plea; it usually sticks.

Does that explain what you wanted to know?

[pnwmom]

8. But it doesn't sound like there will be a trial. He's pleading not guilty

and then, if he sees his therapist for another 18 months, they'll dismiss the charges.


So he will always be able to say that he was never convicted of anything. I think they're letting him off awfully easily.

[no_hypocrisy]

9. OK, since this is the case, here's another theory.

The case against Rush is like a juvenile shoplifting case. The court prefers that the kid straighten out his ass and move on rather than punish him for stealing. In a case like Rush's, there would only be a trial if he messed up and went back on drugs. Otherwise, the court prefers social work over adjudication, and has ordered a program of rehabilitation and counseling.

And you're right: if Rush doesn't screw up, the charges probably will be dismissed and he can claim he was never convicted of anything.

As much as I wish a different outcome for this Oxymoron, we can't have one standard for Rush and another for other defendants accused of the same thing. The process must be consistent in order to be fair.

[pnwmom]

10. You're right, it seems like a reasonable approach in general. The problem

is that it seems to be applied so inconsistently. So people like Rush get off and young kids end up in jail for marijuana.

[Contrary1]

5. And the Freeps are calling it a "witchhunt"!

Please tell me this is a troll from our side.
Can someone really be this stupid?

To: onyx
I think we're on the same team.
If not, tell me how you feel about

Nixon

Weinberger

Gingrich

Livingston

Bennett

North

Libby

Rove

Dr. Laura

Rush

and, of course,

Tom Delay

I personally feel they're all great Americans (I hope you do too), and most certainly compared to Ted Kennedy and the Clintons, et al.

I just don't understand why the good guys can't seem to put up a fight, other than smiling for their mug shot.
I don't see that as any kind of victory.

551 posted on 04/28/2006 5:19:00 PM PDT by daler <------

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1623446/posts?q=1&&page=563#563