Blahism: Bobby K. Lawyer

Bobby K. Lawyer’s first inclination when accepting a new client is to begin the process of plea bargaining. He is not interested in “dragging out” a case in court that will go on for months and might get ugly. Plea bargaining, in his opinion, is a much simpler way to work the system and satisfy both parties. But Bobby is not looked on very highly by his peers. To many of his peers, plea bargains cheat the system, side-step justice, and do not take due process into consideration.

The ethical dilemma associated with plea bargaining is that Bobby may not be upholding his responsibility as an attorney. While most lawyers are not viewed very highly in the ethics department, they are held at some sort of ethical standard set by the American Bar Association (ABA). Bobby has become a “fast-food lawyer” (p. 252), pushing cases through the system as fast as possible, to make the biggest profit. This strategy could victimize some defendants because they can only afford a court appointed attorney, and since Bobby is pushing for a plea bargain the defendant is therefore not getting a fair trial. In addition to the possible victimization of his clients, Bobby is pushing his relationship with other professionals into rocky waters.
If the defendant, prosecutor, and Bobby all agree that a plea bargain is the best way to wrap up a case, then a plea bargain is the ethical thing to do. Valuable court time is saved, the defendant saves the money he/she would need to pay Bobby through a trial, and the taxpayers save money by not having to pay for a jury trial. Everyone is happy with this deontological framework, so the means justify the ends.
If Bobby keeps pushing cases to plea bargains, he might not be maintaining professional responsibility to his clients; and he may be angering prosecutors because he is making a mockery of the court system. But the more cases Bobby pushes to plea bargain, the more money he gets. Bobby is happy with the teleological framework because the ends justify the means.
I think Bobby should stick to the deontological framework, and use plea bargains sparingly when the situation calls for it, and when all players in the courtroom agree.