When I was on a jury several years ago, we convicted a couple of would-be Russian mafia schlubs here on temporary visas for possession of burglary tools. The trial took four days because of a bunch of issues involving both procedure and precedent. It took only 45 minutes to review and dismiss every assertion that worked in their favor, so we signed the tally sheet and called the bailiff.
The young Deputy DA, whose first prosecution this was, could scarcely contain his delight. In the hall afterwards he told us he was going to be a temporary hero in the DA's office because his first trial produced a -- get this -- "Lenscrafter Verdict." He put in his order and the jury gave him what he wanted in less than an hour.
No word from the PDs what they thought about the verdict. The schlubs got to spend a year in the slams and were then escorted directly to the airport for a swift trip home to Mother Russia on a one-way ticket.
. But I expect the pleas to pick up in other cases. You see, just because the DA offers a plea doesn't mean he has a weak case that you can beat....... A case like this usually goes to trial about once a year because people in jail tend to forget that lesson. 
