Plants need water? Is the flynn court case a “potted plant”?
A Plant Grows In Brooklyn: EDNY Judge Scrutinizes Deferred Prosecution Deal
>Sullivan’s appointed retired Judge John Gleeson
https://www.forbes.com/sites/insider/2013/07/31/a-plant-grows-in-brooklyn-edny-judge-scrutinizes-deferred-prosecution-deal/#71687ba35f68
As Judge Gleeson put it, the court would not just be a “potted plant.”
The court, in Judge Gleeson’s view, is essential to determine fairness of an agreement since the defendant “is less likely to raise a purported impropriety with the process . . . given the risk of derailing the deferral of prosecution.” It is the court’s job to be more than a “potted plant” and make sure that the agreement does not “transgress[] the bounds of lawfulness or propriety.” Furthermore, given both parties’ continuing obligations under the agreement, judicial oversight is also required to ensure that both parties comply with the agreement during the five year period in which the case is pending.
Further, the scrutiny of DPAs could encourage the government to enter non-prosecution agreements (NPAs) in lieu of DPAs, for, as Judge Gleeson observed, judicial supervision does not apply to non-prosecution agreements;
the government has virtually unfettered discretion to choose not to charge at all.