I last heard of this a long time ago when I was still a kid, maybe in the late 1970’s or early 80’s. (Which brings me to my next question: is it still practiced today?)
It’s hopeless for a defendant in a criminal trial. He’s done some unforgivable deed. And a not guilty plea just wouldn’t work (use your imagination).
So he says, in a last fit of desperation ‘I throw myself on the mercy of the court!’ And that, I seem to recall, was supposed to make the court go easy on him (or her, for that matter).
It has been a long time, so I don’t remember if it worked. Frankly, I was a little kid. I don’t even know if I heard that part of the story. But I clearly recall it was done at one time.
Again, I perhaps don’t get out as much as I could. So maybe it’s still done today. Is it? Would it work?
Because it also seems redundant to me anyways. If you plead guilty, you’re already doing that anyway. Or is there something I’m missing here? Is something else involved?
Yes, I clearly recall that this happened .And as I said, I last heard of it as a child. So sorry, no cite .
As a judge’s assistant, in all the years I listened to defendants’ sentencing hearings, which would generally be the time for a defendant or his attorney to make a plea for leniency, I never heard either use those specific words. Arguments for leniency, surely. But never, “Your Honor, I throw myself on the mercy of the court!”
Judges are required in imposing their choice of sentence to state factors in mitigation (for leniency) and factors in aggravation (for not leniency) on the record, as well as indicate how they, the judge, are balancing them. If factors in mitigation outweigh factors in aggravation, then there may be a lesser sentence. And vice versa.
I think it’s more a movie or television drama thing than an actual thing.
I would assume it means showing remorse in order to mitigate your sentence. I can think of at least one movie in which the defendant was innocent, but their lawyer counseled throwing themselves on the mercy of the court because they had no chance at an acquittal.
Not really all that heinous, but the last time I got a traffic ticket, I pled “Guilty with an explanation.” The judge asked what that was, and I replied “I’m a dumbass.” That got a chuckle and a minimal fine.
When you say you “clearly recall that this happened,” what do you mean by “happened?”
The phrase has no legal meaning in American jurisprudence that I can find.
Google Books gives a few examples of the phrase in accounts from the early 19th century. More recent accounts are obviously people who, like you, have heard the phrase and think it means something. The best example of what happens next is found here. [Page 255 if the link doesn’t take you directly there.]
I suspect this is similar to the portion of a wedding ceremony that asks for any objections and ends with the words, “…speak now or forever hold your peace”.
Perhaps once a thing, but nowadays just something you might see in a movie or television show (and an older one, at that).
.And as I said, I last heard of it as a child. So sorry, no cite