Wednesday, January 17, 2007

"As rare as four-leaf clovers"

Mike Tein was referring to binding 11(e) pleas in this Sun-Sentinel article about Ze'ev Rosenstein (in which the parties agreed to a 144 month sentence -- see post below). I loved the quote, and I agree with Mike that you rarely see these sorts of deals in federal court where the parties agree on a particular sentence. The judge either accepts the deal and is then bound by the agreement or rejects it. It seems to me that both sides would want to do this more often. It gives everyone certainty, avoids litigation, and avoids appeals... Why don't we see more of these binding deals?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Because AUSA's say they can't get them approved and judges won't accept them. Other than that, they would be as common as blades of grass.

David Oscar Markus said...

But why wouldn't AUSA's want them as much as defense lawyers? And it would seem to me that Judges would love them too because they save resources and avoid lots of litigation. What am I missing?

Anonymous said...

"What am I missing?" Power and control. You don't have it and they think they do. Stipulated pleas mean they have surrendered power and control to you and your client. Any more questions?

Anonymous said...

since when did mike tein become the go to guy at DBR?

ramesq said...

I thought it interesting that Zev will be doing his time in Israel. Does DOJ Washington have to approve that?