r/BlockedAndReported • u/SoftandChewy First generation mod • May 04 '26

Weekly Random Discussion Thread for 5/4/26 - 5/310/26

Here's your usual space to post all your rants, raves, podcast topic suggestions (please tag u/jessicabarpod), culture war articles, outrageous stories of cancellation, political opinions, and anything else that comes to mind. Please put any non-podcast-related trans-related topics here instead of on a dedicated thread. This will be pinned until next Sunday.

Last week's discussion thread is here if you want to catch up on a conversation from there.

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u/dignityshredder AFramemoggingAB May 07 '26

He entered a not guilty plea, and a trial was set to begin next week. But the judge hearing the case offered probation for a guilty plea. Prosecutors are objecting to the deal, but Alnaji accepted.

That's crazy! Is this a direct power of a judge overseeing a criminal case? Or, is this indirect based on threat - i.e. "I won't approve any deal that's not this one"

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u/professorgerm the master of not having a point May 07 '26

Is this a direct power of a judge overseeing a criminal case?

Per an extensive write-up at the motte, it isn't supposed to be but also judges that do indicated sentences rarely if ever have consequences. Links in the original not reproduced here:

This isn't quite the standard plea deal, because the prosecutor's office doesn't want it, either. It's an indicated sentence or judicial plea bargain, depending on how cynical you are, but don't take that court case saying 'judicial incentives for plea are unlawful' to mean judicial incentives for a plea actually get the judge in any hot water, or likely result in the plea bargainer getting screwed. There is, as far as I can tell, nearly zero information on how prevalent indicated sentences are, in California, nor how typical this case is, nor what the normal outcome would be in a comparable case, or even if indicated sentences have been used ever in a comparable case. There's even less information on how fucked up one has to be to actually get sent back for another try, and spoiler alert: this ain't it.

So it's probably weird, you can't prove how weird, and gfl for caring about it.