Supreme Court ruling concerning plea bargaining might force plea offers to be put in writing.

For years, the nation’s highest court has devoted the majority of its criminal justice efforts to ensuring that defendants get a fair day in court and a fair sentence once a trial is concluded. But in two decisions on Wednesday, the Supreme Court tacitly acknowledged that it has been enforcing an image of the system that is very different from the real, workaday world inhabited by prosecutors and defense lawyers across the country.

"97 percent of federal convictions and 94 percent of state convictions are the result of guilty pleas. Plea bargains have become so central to today’s criminal justice system that defense counsel must meet responsibilities in the plea bargain process to render the adequate assistance of counsel that the Sixth Amendment requires at critical stages of the criminal process." (from page 2 of ruling)

Ronald F. Wright, a professor of law at Wake Forest University, said that for generations plea bargains have been the rule rather than the exception, “and the Supreme Court has, until the last two or three years, found a way to ignore that.”
The decisions, endorsed by a 5-to-4 majority and written by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, affirm a defendant’s right under the Sixth Amendment to have the assistance of an effective lawyer during pretrial negotiations. Both of the cases before the court involved defendants who failed to take plea bargains after receiving bad legal advice.

Taken together, the rulings greatly expand the supervisory reach of judges to include plea bargaining, a process that has traditionally been conducted informally and with so little oversight that one law professor, Stephanos Bibas of the University of Pennsylvania, has compared it to a Turkish bazaar.     
"The prosecution and trial courts may adopt measures to help ensure against late, frivolous, or fabricated claims. First, a formal offer’s terms and processing can be documented. Second, States may require that all offers be in writing. Third, formal offers can be made part of the record at any subsequent plea proceeding or before trial to ensure that a defendant has been fully advised before the later proceedings commence." (from page 2 of ruling)

The rulings, he added, might also result in requirements that plea offers be put in writing, something that Justice Kennedy noted was already the case in Arizona. While many states require plea agreements to be written and presented before a judge, plea offers are often verbal and made in informal settings.
Supreme Court Ruling: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-444.pdfhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/us/stronger-hand-for-judges-after-rulings-on-plea-deals.html?_r=3&ref=us

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/opinion/a-broader-right-to-counsel.html?ref=us