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How Plea Bargaining Works (And Why Innocent People Still Take the Deal)
Description
1If you're charged with a crime you didn't commit, you still might take the plea deal. That's not a bug in the system — it's a feature.
Criminal defense attorney Edward F. Cohn has spent 23 years inside courtrooms in Arizona, Michigan, and Massachusetts watching this play out. In this episode of The Infamous Ex-Chief, we break down the trial penalty, why prosecutors make their move before you even step foot in a courtroom, and the hidden long-term consequences of a guilty plea that most defendants never see coming.
Attorney Cohn holds an LLM from Boston University School of Law, a certificate in comprehensive negotiation from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and carries an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell — held by fewer than 10% of attorneys nationwide.
Topics covered:
— What the trial penalty actually is and why it exists
— How early prosecutors push for pleas (and the leverage they use)
— Hidden consequences: employment, housing, firearm rights, immigration — When to fight and when to take the deal
— What Cohn would change about American plea bargaining today
🔗 Contact Atty. Cohn: cohn-justice.com | edwardfcohn@gmail.com | (520) 333-3348
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