News broke last week that lawyer Sidney Powell, who promoted wild conspiracy theories in support of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, had pleaded guilty and agreed to testify …

Sidney Powell has agreed to plea guilty for her efforts to overturn the 2020 election, but that doesn't mean she's going to flip on Trump.

  • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
    5·
    1 year ago

    I believe the judge will have some limits set on what she can say, and she won’t be able to talk about details of the case.

    I dunno - the deal is with the prosecution not the judge if I understand correctly… And judges can't limit speech arbitrarily as people are finding out with Trump's gag orders. I suppose we'll find out soon though. If she has violated any court order she'll likely be pulled back in to face the judge.

      • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        1 year ago

        That doesn't sound right… According to Cornell:

        In some jurisdictions, prosecutors and defendants can work with judges to predetermine what sentence the defendants will get if the defendants accept plea bargains. In most jurisdictions, however, judges’ role in plea bargaining is limited. For example, federal judges retain final authority over sentencing decisions, and are not bound by prosecutors’ recommendations, even if the recommendations are part of plea bargains.

        So the court can still sentence the party pleading guilty as they like but it sounds like they don't typically have anything to do with the plea deal itself.

        They also play a role in enforcement:

        Courts treat plea bargains as contracts between prosecutors and defendants. A defendant breaking a plea bargain is akin to a breach of contract, which will result in the prosecutor no longer being bound by his or her obligation in the plea deal.