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Plea Bargain (also
called plea agreement, plea deal or copping a plea) is an agreement, in a
criminal case, between the prosecutor and the defendant. The defendant is given
the opportunity to plead guilty usually for a part of his charges with a
recommendation of a lighter sentence. This agreement can be made at almost any
point of a criminal case, before the trial. The majority of criminal cases
(about 90% of all criminal convictions) are solved through a Plea Bargain. Today
when the courts are overloaded and the jails are overcrowded it is a good
solution that allows saving time and the resources of the court. Usually this
agreement is offered by the court that wants to "process out" the
criminals that are not likely to spent much time in jail in case of a guilty
verdict. Even the presence of a judge is not required for this agreement. The
prosecutors are also interested in a Plea Bargain, because in most cases there
is no guarantee that they will win the case in the end. If they persuade the defendant
to plea guilty through this agreement, they will definitely have a successful
case and guaranteed conviction even without any trial. Also in some cases a
Plea Bargain can be used against co-defendants. The defendants are also
interested in a possibility to plea guilty for lesser charges, if the case has
some serious evidence. And it is also in the interest of an attorney to get the
least possible punishment for his or her client if it is nearly impossible to
win the case. So if we look at Plea Bargain in general it is a solution that is
suitable for almost all the sides in a criminal case.
Plea bargaining
usually involves negotiations between the sides in a criminal case in three
following areas:
Charge Bargaining
The easiest was to
explain is an example. If a person is charged with a first-degree murder a plea
bargain will lower these charges to manslaughter. This works for all the types
of charges but always heavily depends on the case.
Sentence Bargaining
In this area a lighter
sentence is provided for a person that pleads guilty. It helps the court and
the prosecutors to avoid trial and the defendant to a smaller sentence.
Fact Bargaining
The third area is
facts. It is an admission to certain facts in exchange for an agreement not to
introduce certain other facts into evidence.
Plea Bargains are often criticized because it
is a way for criminals to avoid the most serious punishment, but in reality in
every case this agreement is discussed and there are always a number of factors
that influence the possibility of reaching a Plea Bargain. It can be based on the
seriousness of the alleged crime, the strength of the evidence in the case, and
the prospects of a guilty verdict at trial. So despite all the negative
opinions this agreement is still one of the best possible instruments of the
law today.
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For more information regarding Ottawa
criminal lawyers, criminal lawyers, Hamilton lawyers and Attorney please visit: www.lawyerahead.ca
