Professor John Pfaff was quoted in Slate.com, where he discusses how this new decision in Arizona utterly ignores the reality of plea bargaining.
Given the immense expense and hassle of a trial, many defendants are pressured into striking a deal with a prosecutor, trading a lighter sentence for an admission of guilt. Arizona prosecutors can now dangle the threat of a probable child molestation conviction to coerce any parent of a young child into taking a plea deal on unrelated charges.
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This terrible decision has gutted constitutional rights and turned many of the state’s residents into unknowing criminals.
