Monday Map: The Tangled Web

We've got a different kind of map this week - a flowchart of the American criminal justice system and the tangled paths defendants can take to jail or to freedom. If the chart above is too small to read, click on the image or here to see a bigger version on wikipedia.

Millions of defendants meander through this system each year, and their cases can follow varied paths - they can plead guilty, they can go to trial. They can enter some kind of arrangement with a judge to continue the case pending treatment, education or a clean record. Guilty pleas and trials come in many shapes and sizes and can lead to a wide range of punishment options. The juvenile system has its own complications, protections and dangers.

It's a complex structure and it varies some from state to state - some of the nuances are absolutely necessary while others are symptoms of a self-perpetuating bureaucracy. Without a lawyer, our criminal justice system is almost impossible to navigate.

I wrote last week about the millions of misdemeanors clogging our courts - as outlined in a new report from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Many people charged with minor crimes across the country are encouraged by judges to plead guilty without a lawyer, often with the promise of a lighter sentence, to keep the process moving. These defendants are starting in the face of the tangled system above, and many agree to plead in order to avoid the potential pitfalls of a prolonged battle.

Our system could use some simplification to make it more accessible to the millions who come in contact with it. But more importantly - and more likely - we should allocate the indigent defense and public education resources necessary to ensure that those who face the system don't accept an unfair outcome to avoid a complex, confusing and potentially harmful path through the maze.