Ethics Forum: Questions and Answers on Professional Responsibility
I noticed recently that some judges have become aggressive in trying to get a plea agreement in a criminal case or a settlement in a civil case. What is the limit on their role?
July 01, 2021 at 01:02 PM
10 minute read
Ethics
A judge can encourage settlement or pleas in appropriate cases, but the encouragement cannot involve coercion.
I noticed recently that some judges have become aggressive in trying to get a plea agreement in a criminal case or a settlement in a civil case. What is the limit on their role?
Samuel C. Stretton.
The pressure to move cases and show good numbers in dispositions have caused judges now to become more involved in trying to have a case settled on the civil side or to have a guilty plea on the criminal side. One can't blame the judicial officer for trying. Courts in Pennsylvania always have had heavy schedules. The state legislators refuse to allot sufficient monies for new courtrooms and additional judges to handle the case load. With the COVID-19 virus closing down everything, now there are massive case backlogs that have to be tried or resolved.
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