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Idaho Judge says no way to sweetheart plea |
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Wednesday, 04 March 2009 03:42 |
It's one of our favorite types of stories: a judge who finally pushes back against "Let's Make a Deal" plea bargaining.
Idaho District Judge John Patrick Luster has rejected a plea agreement
in the case of a man accused of "fracturing his infant son's head and
causing other serious injuries," reports the Bonner County Daily Bee.
The paper says it's not the first time that defendant Bobby Daniel
Adams has been charged with child abuse.
"Adams was charged with injuring another of his children several years
ago in western Washington, [a prosecutor] said. He pleaded guilty to a
reduced charge of third-degree child abuse and his parental rights were
terminated in that case."
Despite the previous conviction, now-retired prosecutor Phil Robinson
and defense attorney Todd Reed proposed a plea bargain that could have
resulted in just six months in jail.
"The court would be rejecting the terms of that agreement," Judge Luster said.
The popular news media often overlooks judges who reject sweetheart
plea bargains, preferring to highlight lenient sentences instead. But
for every light sentence, legal insiders know there are hundreds of
light plea bargains.
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