What Are Plea Bargains?
A plea bargain is an agreement between a prosecutor and defendant whereby the prosecutor provides incentive for the defendant to plead guilty in order to avoid going to trial. Plea bargains can benefit defendants by guaranteeing particular outcomes. The two most common types of plea bargains are charge and sentence bargaining, where the first type reduces the charge(s), and the latter, the sentence(s). Fact bargaining is a less common type of plea bargain.
Plea bargains are legal transactions in which a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge or pleads guilty to the original charge in exchange for some other form of leniency, such as the imposition of the minimum sentence or dismissal of more serious charges in a multiple dismissal case. The rationale is based on the notion of judicial economy–plea bargains avoid the time and expense of a trial, freeing up the courts to hear other cases. The benefit to defendants is that the process is completed much sooner than it would be if they went to trial. Further, defendants are afforded a sense of certainty; they know what the outcome of their case will be, rather than taking their chances at trial. Generally, such offers are more generous in the early stages of prosecution as an incentive to the defendant to bring the case to an early conclusion. An early disposition of the case tends to be favored by the prosecution and the judge because it eliminates several additional court appearances t
