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Around 98% of the time, plea bargains, not trials, settle charges. Lawyers prefer them because:
- most often they serve clients best under a system rigged to convict;
- civil cases (when held) must be completed in nine months, but military ones may take two years without bail for charges bringing shorter sentences;
- the ordeal of trial and detention, family separation, and other systemic inequities means clients are better served by ending proceedings faster;
- going to trial and losing may bring harsher sentences; and
- lawyers hope leniency will result by cooperating with prosecutors.
Appealing decisions in Military Courts of Appeals is daunting. In cases involving security threats, appellate reviews don't help. Nearly always, this court has final say. Rarely does Israel's High Court review their decisions.
Lawyers vent their frustration, saying:
"The whole process is oppressive.""I learned how to help people, but it's just not possible in the military courts. They exist to administer the occupation, not the law. I feel helpless."
"The most frustrating thing is that you have to work within the occupation. You oppose the system, but you have to work within it."
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