To understand what is and is not wrong with plea bargaining, one must understand the relationship of bargains to trials. Both trials and bargains are flawed. While there are many good insights in Easterbrook's and Schulhofer's comments, we think they both fall prey to the tendency to imagine perfection in one part of the system or the other. That tendency inevitably leads to one of two conclusions-plea bargaining is just fine the way it is, or it ought to be junked. Notwithstanding their popularity, we think both polar positions are wrong.
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