Historical Origins of Plea Bargaining at Common Law

辩诉交易在日本的历史学家甚至刑法学者中都是鲜为人知的。这个项目旨在探索辩诉交易在英国的历史渊源。J·S·考克本教授在伊丽莎白一世和詹姆斯一世统治时期的《家庭巡回法庭记录》中发现了许多关于辩诉交易的事实，他得出结论，16世纪和17世纪的英国存在辩诉交易。但这一观点遭到了阿尔舒勒的批评，他坚持辩诉交易起源于19世纪的美国。我回顾了这场争论，并亲自审阅了材料，并与科克伯恩教授得出结论，认为16世纪末和17世纪初的英国存在辩诉交易。我的理论的证据是，许多修改的起诉书表明进行辩诉交易，传讯的数量突然增加，每个审判陪审团面前传讯的囚犯数量也突然增加，等等。我还提出，早期辩诉交易的至少一个原因与现代美国的辩诉交易是相同的，那就是大量的犯罪与法官和治安官员的数量不成比例。

Plea bargaining is not known among the historians and even the scholars of the criminal law in Japan. This project aims to search historical origins of plea bargaining in England.Professor J. S. Cockburn found in Assize Records of the Home Circuit for the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I many facts suggesting plea bargaining, and he concluded that there was plea bargaining in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries England. But this opinion was criticized by A. W. Alschuler, who had insisted its origins in nineteenth century America.I have reviewed this controversy and examined the material by myself, and concluded with Professor Cockburn that there was plea bargaining in late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries England. The evidence of my theory is many altered indictments suggesting plea bargaining, suddenly increased number of arraignments, and also suddenly increased number of prisoners arraigned before each trial jury, and so on.I have also suggested that at least one reason of the early plea bargaining was the same with modern American one, that is, the large number of crimes out of proportion to the small number of judges and peace officers.