Negotiating About Charges and Pleas: Balancing Interests and Justice

There is a worldwide movement towards alternatives to judicial decision-making for legal disputes. In the domain of criminal sentencing, in Western countries more than 95 % of cases are guilty pleas, with many being decided by negotiations over charges and pleas, rather than a decision being made after a judge or jury has heard all relevant evidence in a trial. Because decisions are being made, and people incarcerated on the basis of negotiations, it is important that such negotiations be just and fair. In this paper we discuss issues of fairness in plea-bargaining and how we can develop systems to support the process of plea and charge negotiation. We discuss how we are using Toulmin’s theory of argumentation and Lodder and Zeleznikow’s model of online dispute resolution to develop just plea bargaining systems. A specific investigation of the process of charge mentions is discussed

Mediación en conflictos y abogacía. Propuesta para su desarrollo mediante el análisis pragmático de las dimensiones narrativa y argumentativa del discurso

[ES]La mediación en conflictos es una metodología para la resolución pacífica de las disputas interpersonales. Actualmente, la mediación en España se ha profesionalizado e institucionalizado en un nivel que no se corresponde con su escasa demanda por parte de la ciudadanía. La abogacía es uno de los colectivos profesionales que más se ha interesado por esta modalidad de intervención psicosocial, según se desprende de la relación existente entre derecho y mediación. La profundización en el lenguaje y el discurso desarrollado por la comunidad profesional de abogados-mediadores permite articular alternativas que les permitan desempeñar mejor una función mediadora. El estudio comparativo de las teorías de la argumentación y narrativa permite desentrañar las repercusiones que ambas teorías tienen, respectivamente, sobre la mediación y la abogacía. Finalmente, se presenta un modelo analítico-discursivo, basado en una estancia de investigación en una empresa privada, que permite examinar las dimensiones narrativa y argumentativa del discurso mediatorio.[EN] Conflict Mediation is a practical tool to facilitate amicable resolution in interpersonal disputes. Nowadays, Mediation in Spain is undergoing a general process of institutionalization and professionalization. This development is at odds with low public demand for mediation services. Lawyering is one of the most important professional sectors, which they are interested on this form of psychosocial support. In fact, Mediation an Lawyering are closely related. Deepening language and speech developed by the professional community of lawyers - mediators can articulate better alternatives that allow them to play a better mediating role. A comparative study of the theories of argumentation and narrative allows unravel the impact that both theories have, respectively, on mediation and advocacy. Finally, an analytical - discursive model, based on a research stay in a private-sector company, which tries to explain the argumentative and narrative dimensions in mediatorial discourse is presented.Tesis Univ. Jaén. Departamento de Derecho Penal, Filosofía del Derecho, Filosofía Moral y Filosofía. Laída el 13 de julio de 201