Plea-Bargain Basics

A plea bargain is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor, in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest (nolo contendere) in exchange for an agreement by the prosecution.

In a typical plea bargain, the defense lawyer and prosecutor confer, and one or the other proposes a deal.

For most defendants, the principal benefit to plea bargaining is receiving a lighter sentence for a less severe charge than might result from a conviction at trial.

Moving cases along and locking up the truly bad actors are just two reasons why plea bargaining remains an important part of the criminal justice system.

There are several different types of plea bargains, which may go by the follow terms:

There is a risk that the prosecutor may end up recommending a harsher sentence than the one proposed as part of the plea bargain. Or, even if the recommendation remains the same, the judge may not follow it.

It’s no secret that the overwhelming majority of criminal cases never reach trial. Most criminal cases end by plea bargains and guilty pleas.