www.lesswrong.com/posts/N9oKuQKuf7yvCCtfq/can-crimes-be-discussed-literally
1 correction found
people accepting a plea bargain are expected to affirm under oath that no one made threats or promises to induce them to plead guilty
This leaves out a key legal qualification: plea colloquies ask about force, threats, or promises **other than those in the plea agreement**. Plea bargains themselves commonly include disclosed promises such as dropped charges or sentencing recommendations.
Full reasoning
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 does not require defendants to swear that no promises induced the plea. It requires the judge to determine that the plea "did not result from force, threats, or promises (other than promises in a plea agreement)." The same rule also requires the parties to disclose the plea agreement in open court.
That matters because a plea bargain, by definition, often includes a promise from the government—such as dropping charges or recommending a lighter sentence—in exchange for the guilty plea. The Eastern District of Tennessee's federal court explainer states: "If a defendant pleads guilty in return for the government agreeing to drop certain charges or to recommend a lenient sentence, the agreement often is called a 'plea bargain.'"
So the unqualified claim that people taking plea bargains are expected to affirm that "no one made threats or promises to induce them" is misleadingly false. The standard legal formulation is about no undisclosed threats or promises beyond the plea agreement, not no promises at all.
2 sources
- Rule 11. Pleas | Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure | LII / Legal Information Institute
Before accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, the court must ... determine that the plea is voluntary and did not result from force, threats, or promises (other than promises in a plea agreement).
- Presentence | Eastern District of Tennessee
If a defendant pleads guilty in return for the government agreeing to drop certain charges or to recommend a lenient sentence, the agreement often is called a "plea bargain."