pleabargaining

What Is A "Plea Bargain"?
A "plea bargain" is a deal offered by a prosecutor as an incentive for a defendant
to plead guilty. If every case in the justice system went to trial, the courts would
be so overloaded that they would effectively be shut down. Plea bargaining allows
the prosecutor to obtain guilty pleas in cases that might otherwise go to trial.

What Are The Types Of "Plea Bargains"?

There are two types of plea bargain:

Charge Bargain
A "charge bargain" occurs when the prosecutor allows a defendant to "plead
guilty to a lesser charge," or to only some of the charges that have been filed
against him. For example, a defendant charged with burgarly may be offered the
opportunity to plead guilty to "attempted burglary." A defendant charged with
Drunk Driving and Driving With License Suspended may be offered the
opportunity to plead guilty to just the drunk driving charge.

Sentence Bargain
A "sentence bargain" occurs when a defendant is told in advance what his
sentence will be if he pleads guilty. This can help a prosecutor obtain a conviction
if, for example, a defendant is facing serious charges and is afraid of being hit with
the "maximum" sentence. Typically, sentence bargains can only be granted if
they are approved by the trial judge. Many jurisdictions severely limit sentence
bargaining.

Sentence bargaining sometimes occurs in high profile cases, where the
prosecutor does not want to reduce the charges against the defendant, usually
for fear of how the newspapers will react. A sentence bargain may allow the
prosecutor to obtain a conviction to the most serious charge, while assuring the
defendant of an acceptable sentence.

What Happens If I Break My Deal With The Prosecutor?
A plea bargain is a contract between the prosecutor and the defendant, and both
parties are required to comply with the terms of their contract. If you have a plea
bargain with the prosecutor and you are required to perform particular tasks
(such as pleading guilty on a particular date, cooperating in the investigation of
another offense, or testifying against a co-defendant), the prosecutor may
revoke the plea bargain if you fail to satisfy your duties.

What Happens If The Prosecutor Breaks His Deal With Me?
If the prosecutor breaks a deal with a defendant, the defendant may seek to
have his plea set aside, or may seek a court order requiring the prosecutor to
respect the plea bargain. This may happen if the prosecutor has agreed not to
authorize additional criminal charges against the defendant in return for the guilty
plea, yet subsequently files the charges.

How Do I Make Sure That My Plea Bargain Is Followed?
Make sure that the plea deal is clearly stated on the record at the time of your
plea. Sometimes, the plea deal will be reduced to writing, and will be signed by the
parties. It is usually adequate to reference the written plea agreement on the
record, without reciting all of the terms. During your sentence, the court will ask
you about any promises that you have received, other than the plea bargain
stated on the record, in return for your guilty plea. If you answer that there are
none, yet the terms of your plea are not on the record, you may find yourself
without any recourse if the prosecutor only respects those terms that were
stated on the record.

There are rare exceptions to the rule of placing the entire plea agreement on the
record. Sometimes, the defense, prosecutor and judge will work out a resolution
of a high profile case, but will not want to place the terms of the deal on the
record. (For example, the prosecutor may not want the adverse publicity of
looking "soft on crime," and the judge may not want to admit to engaging in
"sentence bargaining" in a serious case.) However, don't assume that your case
falls into this small category of exceptions - ask your attorney before you plead
guilty to make sure that the entire agreement is part of the record (either directly
or by reference to the contract), and make the attorney explain any decision to
depart from this practice.

When Should I First Consider a Plea Bargain?
The answer to that depends upon the facts of your case, and the laws and
procedures of the jurisdiction where you are charged. However, in many cases it
can be advantageous to retain an attorney and seek a plea bargain before you
have been charged with an offense. For example, if your attorney can begin
negotiations with a prosecutor while the police are still investigating or before you
are formally charged with a crime, you may be able to obtain a reduction of
charges that would not be available after charges are officially filed.

Plea Bargaining