The Attorney General's Guidelines on Plea Bargaining in Serious Fraud: Obtaining Guilty Pleas Fairly?

Abstract

Fraud reform has recently culminated in the introduction of guidelines on plea bargaining issued by the Attorney General. In addition, it is likely that these guidelines will be complimented by new sentencing provisions from the Sentencing Guidelines Council to give a formal plea-bargaining model, which is hoped will increase conviction rates, process cases more expeditiously and reduce public expenditure for fraud prosecution. In addition, these guidelines have been complemented by new sentencing provisions from the Sentencing Guidelines Council to give a formal plea-bargaining model. This article will examine whether the new plea-bargaining model will deliver the transparent, efficient and effective system desired, whilst ensuring that those defendants who enter into plea bargains are free from improper pressure to plead guilty. Having been studied as part of the fraud reform process, the US Federal plea-bargaining model will be used as a barometer in this examination.