Administration and Justice: Maintaining Balance Through an Institutionalized Plea Negotiation Process

Although the existence of plea negotiation as an operative mode of disposition in most criminal court systems has been firmly established, its role in the administration of justice remains a topic of considerable debate. It has been claimed that plea negotiation subverts ideal principles of justice while attending to administrative needs for speedy case settlement. More recent research indicates that disposition by guilty plea is a complex process that incorporates system needs as well as principles of justice. Findings from an exploratory study of the felony disposition guilty plea is a complex process that incorporates system needs as well as principles of justice. Findings from an exploratory study of the felony disposition process in the Multnomah County court system in Portland, Oregon suggest that, under certain conditions, plea negotiation can effect a balance between competing but interdependent domains of action in the criminal disposition process.