How plead juveniles in the criminal justice system? An exploratory research of plea bargaining in Spain

• In Event: Diversion and Court Processes in Juvenile Justice

Abstract

Nowadays plea bargaining is a common and accepted legal practice in the Spanish juvenile courts. As far as we know, there is no work in Spain that analyse the juvenile defendant's decision to plead or not in a trial. Specifically, we have analysed whether there are legal or extra-legal variables that may influence this decision and also explored the different positions of judicial actors and juvenile offenders on how they deal with this process. This research includes a mixed methodology: we reviewed 532 judicial records of children prosecuted in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) and interviewed 32 professionals (lawyers, prosecutors and judges) and 12 juveniles serving a half-open custody measure. Our preliminary results find that 66% of juveniles are convicted through a plea bargain, although there are differences in plea bargaining rates due to the established dynamics of each juvenile court.
It seems that some legal and extra-legal variables influence the decision to accept a plea agreement. We found evidence suggesting that juveniles who have a deviant peer group, commit a domestic violence offense or a property damage and have a public defender are the most likely to plead guilty at trial. Likewise, it is observed that through a plea bargain the adolescent agrees to plead guilty to the charges in return of a lenient sentence. Similarly, juvenile offenders often feel tremendous pressure to accept a plea agreement and do not understand the consequences of the decision. Lawyers defend plea bargaining; and juveniles, advised by lawyers, tend to accept the plea agreement thinking that it is their best option before hearing, unaware of the future implications of having taken this decision. Results and implications of this work are discussed.

Authors

• Alicia Montero Molera, University of Castilla-La Mancha

• Esther Fernandez Molina, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha