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Plea Negotiations
At any time after charges have been filed, the defendant’s attorney may begin negotiating with prosecutors to determine whether a plea bargain may be possible. A plea bargain usually involves the defendant pleading guilty to lesser charges than those in the complaint, indictment, or information, or a guilty plea to only one of numerous charges. The plea bargain may also include the prosecutor’s agreement to recommend a particular sentence for the charges to which the defendant agrees to plead guilty.
An attorney considers many factors in determining whether to recommend a plea bargain for their client. These factors include:
- The strength of the evidence the prosecutor may present at trial
- The potential penalties which the defendant could be subjected to if the case went to trial and a verdict of guilty was obtained
Assessing the strength of the prosecutor’s case may await the result of the discovery process. The prosecutor is required to reveal a wide variety of information to the defendant’s attorney prior to trial. The information that must be revealed and the timeframe in which the information must be provided varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Information which must always be revealed is called "exculpatory information"; that is, information which tends to show that the defendant is not guilty rather than guilty.
If the defendant decides to plead guilty, the plea will be taken in open court, by a judge who advises the defendant of the rights that are being given up in pleading guilty. Depending upon the jurisdiction, the court may also require the defendant to recite a "factual basis for the plea". This means that the court, in order to be assured that the defendant actually committed the offense to which the defendant is pleading, requires the defendant to testify to certain facts concerning the offense.
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