Working today on Sunday's editorial, about the change last week that means solicitors will no longer have sole control of the criminal court docket. Sounds arcane, I know. But it's a big deal. Want to find out why? Check out an interesting (albeit long) read about the practice: "When Prosectors Control Criminal Court Dockets: Dispatches on History and Policy from a Land Time Forgot."
Among the points made: "Prosecutorial docket control increases nearly every risk factor for such 'false' guilty pleas: increasing the time many defendants must wait for a resolution of their cases, obscuring full preparation, eroding trust between defendants and their counsel, and increasing the incentives for defense counsel not to antagonize prosecutors."
"Criminal defendants are in essence required to participate in an administrative criminal justice system operated by their party-opponent rather than by a managerial judge."
"In a system where there are no limits on the ability of prosecutors to call a bond defendant into court, a criminal indictment itself sentences a defendant to live by the will of another."
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