Every day they rise early and battle rush hour traffic.

March like lemmings into courthouses and wait to be called.

They are electricians and engineers, salesmen and secretaries, mechanics and music teachers.

They come because jury duty is a civic obligation. It's the law.

Most, of course, will never deliberate anything weightier than lunch.

That's because close to 95% of all criminal cases in America are settled with a plea bargain.

Plea deals are efficient and cheaper, way cheaper, than going to trial.

But there is one additional benefit, not exactly a secret.

But they don't talk about it much in high school civics classes.

Plead deals eliminate the risk of having a jury decide things.

Because, as every victim knows, juries are notoriously unreliable.

And every cop knows.

It just takes one juror to not be completely convinced.

And every lawyer knows.

It can go sideways.

Bottom line is, we don't know what a jury may or may not do. Plea deals, on the other hand, allow lawyers for both sides to claim victory and say,

justice was done.

For Victor Paleologus, plea deals were always good deals.

Charges dropped or downgraded in exchange for a guilty plea.

Potential felonies punished with probation.

He pleads with his very good lawyer that happens every day.

And with Palaulogus?

...