Abstract
Plea negotiations have a long history. However, modern forms of negotiation take place in an ideologically different context with an increasing emphasis on economy and efficiency. Changes in the way governments fund legal services are occurring in many jurisdictions with significant implications for procedural and substantive justice, including a dramatic increase in unrepresented defendants and defendants presenting with some degree of mental impairment (and associated high levels of alcohol and drug use). This chapter examines the prevalence and implications of resourcing constraints in the context of plea negotiations, with a specific focus on unrepresented defendants and defendants presenting with mental health concerns.
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Notes
- 1.
Duty lawyers are lawyers from VLA who provide free legal information, advice and representation to clients. This includes duty lawyers working within the criminal law program, who service summary crimes in the Magistrates’ Court and crimes in the Children’s Court. In the 2016–17 financial year, duty lawyers provided 93,697 services (not all of these were criminal cases). As VLA (2017: 22) observe “duty lawyers do not represent everyone. We prioritise serious cases, including people who are in custody or at risk of going into custody and people who need intensive support”.
- 2.
[2016] VSC 532 (12 September 2016).
- 3.
Ibid. [at 57].
- 4.
Ibid.
- 5.
Ibid.
- 6.
VLA has an Independent Mental Health Advocacy Program funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, but this only provides support for those experiencing compulsory mental health treatment, not in criminal proceedings (VLA 2017: 20).
- 7.
Among other offences, Sean Price murdered 17-year-old Masa Vukotic in 2015 and pleaded guilty to murder and a separate rape in 2016.
- 8.
Among other offences, Adrian Bayley was convicted of the rape and murder of Jill Meagher in 2013.
References
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Flynn, A., Freiberg, A. (2018). Pragmatic Justice: At Any Cost?. In: Plea Negotiations. Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92630-8_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92630-8_8
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