Sentencing procedures in England and America— American bargains or English justice?

This article traces the relationship between guilty pleas and sentencing, and demonstrates the effect on this relationship of the practice of plea bargaining. The meaning attributed to the underlying requirement that all guilty pleas—whether the product of bargains or not—be voluntary is investigated, and the differing altitudes of the English and American courts to this requirement are compared. Finally, the scope of plea-bargaining practices in both the English and American legal systems is contrasted and evaluated.