Plea Bargaining: A Model Court Rule

It is not the purpose of this note to discuss the justification for the plea bargaining process, for it is clear that this system will of necessity be continued in the foreseeable future. Instead, this analysis is designed first to present the functional role, constitutional status and existing abuses in the plea bargaining process, and then to discuss the goals and the proposed standards relevant to reform of the present plea bargaining procedures. The culmination of this analysis is the proposed Model Court Rule for Plea Agreements in part III.