Essentials of Criminal Justice 9th Edition by Larry Siegel ,John Worrall

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Strange Plea Agreements
The typical plea agreement results in a reduced charge or a favorable sentencing recommendation by the prosecutor, but some agreements can only be described as strange, or at least outside the box. What follows are some examples identified by law professor and former judge Joseph Colquitt. In exchange for leniency, the defendant agrees to:
• Make a charitable contribution
• Relinquish property ownership
• Surrender a professional license
• Undergo sterilization
• Undergo surgical castration
• Enter the military
• Not pursue appeals
• Undertake a shaming punishment, such as carrying a sign that says "I stole from this store"
• Seal the records of a case
• Surrender profits from crime, such as from books written about the crime
• Be banished to another location
These are examples of what Colquitt calls "ad hoc plea bargaining." In his view, ad hoc plea bargaining takes these forms: (1) the court may impose an extraordinary condition of probation following a guilty plea, (2) the defendant may offer or be required to perform some act as a quid pro quo for a dismissal or more lenient sentence, (3) the court may impose an unauthorized form of punishment as a substitute for a statutorily established method of punishment, (4) the state may offer some unauthorized benefit in return for a plea of guilty, or (5) the defendant may be permitted to plead guilty to an unauthorized offense, such as a "hypothetical" or nonexistent charge, a nonapplicable lesserincluded offense, or a nonrelated charge.
Ad hoc plea bargaining is controversial not just because it is unusual. In some cases it can border on unethical. In one case, the prosecutor offered leniency to a drug defendant if he would surrender several thousand dollars in cash that was found during a search of his property. In another case, a defendant was afforded leniency for agreeing to forfeit interest in his vehicle.
CRITICAL THINKING
What if the tables were turned and, say, a speeding motorist offered $100 to the officer who stopped her in exchange for leniency? What would happen then?