DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/criminal/plea_bargains.html#Q1

 

Larson, Aaron. "Plea Bargain." Expert Law. N.p., 2007. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.
     <www.expertlaw.com....

 

Anthony Arnette

11/30/09

Pd: 2

Bibliography: Plea Bargains

 

            A "plea bargain" is a deal offered by a prosecutor as an incentive for a defendant to plead guilty. -According to website

 

            A plea bargain is a partial deal for a defendant to accept or decline. When the person is in trial for an accusation of a crime, his/her lawyer will do whatever it takes to relieve their client, the defendant, of the crime. If the defense lawyer cannot or does not think he is winning the case, he/she will take a plea bargain which makes the defendant announce that he/she is guilty but will limit or shorten the penalty of jail time for the crime.

 

            Two types of plea bargains are: sentence and charge bargains.

 

            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. –According to website

 

            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.)
–According to website

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.