• 02
  • April
    2012

Over the past few decades, states have imposed much stiffer sentences for criminal offenses, especially those than involve alleged acts of violence. In many cases, lawmakers have gone so far as to impose so-called "mandatory minimum" sentences that take away a judge's authority to sentence a defendant in accordance with the relative severity of his or her crime and the circumstances surrounding the offense.

The laws were meant to improve public safety. However, criminal lawyers and other legal experts say they may be destroying some of the most fundamental principles of the American justice system.

In a sense, heightened criminal penalties have concentrated power in the hands of prosecutors. It used to be that a defendant would make a choice about whether to go to trial based principally on matters of guilt or innocence. Now, prosecutors can use added charges and mandatory minimums to keep defendants from going to trial, even when defendants honestly believe they are not guilty.

It works like this: Prosecutors offer defendants a significantly reduced sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. If the defendant chooses not to take the deal, the prosecutors levy nearly every charge possible. Thanks to mandatory minimums, it is not rare for defendants facing felony charges to be forced to choose between taking a plea and spending a year or two in prison or going to trial and risking decades behind bars.

Many defendants don't feel they can afford to take the chance, so they plead guilty to avoid going court. Essentially, defendants are being punished for asserting their constitutional right to be tried by a jury of their peers.

Even judges are decrying this trend. Many feel that the laws and some prosecutorial procedures take away their discretion and force them to impose harsh sentences that are clearly unfair given the nature of some defendants' situations.

Unfortunately, until the laws are changed, there may be little anyone can do to reverse this troubling trend. However, it is worth noting that experienced criminal defense attorneys can help to ensure that their clients' rights are as protected as possible.