The Law Offices of Haytham Faraj, PLLC

The justice system in the United States is in serious need of reform. Too often innocent people are convicted of crimes they did not commit or are forced to plead guilty because the system is set up to punish those who seek their day in court. Accordingly, lawyers convince clients to plead guilty because taking responsibility for something you did not do results in less severe punishment than pleading not guilty and then being found guilty.Lawyers that push clients to plead guilty justify their actions with the excuse that by doing so minimizes that client's risk of lengthy incarceration. Sadly, the Supreme court recognizes that citizens sometimes plead guilty to things they did not do but dismisses the injustice forced by a system set up to punish by relying on the system's so called right to go to trial and to refuse a plea. Essentially, the Supremes say that a plea is a contract that requires two willing parties. If someone decides to plead guilty when that person is innocent that's a freely made decision that courts need not busy themselves with.Such a pedestrian view of the criminal justice system ignores the realities that criminal defendants and their attorneys must live with: