San Mateo County Grand Jury • 2018-2019

Demystifying the Plea Bargaining Process Issue | Summary | Background | Discussion | Findings | Recommendations

18 pages
Ver PDF original

Findings and Recommendations 5 findings

F1
While the Supreme Court of the United States has validated the constitutionality of plea bargaining, it did not set out the procedure to be followed, and different jurisdictions have developed different processes.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Victim Services Division should revise the form letter it initially sends to victims to include: a. A basic summary of victims’ rights, including the right to deliver a statement. b. A basic description and timeline of early hearings in criminal cases in a manner sufficient to communicate to victims that important rights may be lost if they do not act, including to deliver written impact statements, early enough in the process. (Appendices A and B are not intended for this purpose.) c. A link to the Victim Services website. This information should be written in a manner that the general public can easily understand. This recommendation should be implemented
F2
The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office does not provide printed materials or information on its website describing the County’s plea bargaining process.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The County District Attorney’s office should develop its own explanation of the County’s plea bargaining process in a manner that the general public can easily understand (Appendices A and B are not intended for this purpose), and make it available to the public in brochure form and on its website. This explanation should include at least the following: a description of routine court hearings in criminal cases relevant to the plea bargaining process, a timeline of these hearings, a description of the roles and responsibilities of participants at each of these hearings, and a description of the critical stages where participants, including victims, have a role to play that could influence a case’s outcome. A link to this website should be included in the initial form letter that Victim Services sends to victims. This recommendation should be implemented
F3
Oral victim statements have less of an impact on charges and sentencing of misdemeanors when they are delivered after the plea bargain is concluded and the sentence decided, while written statements delivered to the District Attorney’s Office before the plea bargain is developed are more likely to have an effect on the outcome of the case.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The San Mateo County District Attorney, using input from Victim Services, should develop and place on the District Attorney’s Office’s website a video showing a simulation of the portion of the plea bargaining process that takes place in the judge’s chambers. As an alternative, the District Attorney’s Office could consider using a video such as “Victims of Violence: A Guide to Help Bring Justice” produced by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), or some similar video, as a resource to share with victims. This recommendation should be implemented
F4
Victims of crime are afforded the right to participate in a meaningful way in the criminal justice process, but they are not likely to be able to exercise their rights if they are not informed of them early enough. The form letter, Marsy’s Rights Card, and brochure that the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Victim Services Division uses to make initial contact with a victim do not include any timeline or understandable explanation of key procedures. A victim might not know they have a right to make a statement, and if they wanted to make a statement, they would not know when.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
The form letter that the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Victim Services Division uses to make initial contact with a victim does not include a link to its website.
No recommendations for this finding

No Responses Found 1

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