Plea bargains are sometimes the way that a criminal case will be resolved. While these deals do play an important role in the criminal justice system, they are filled with controversy. There are a few important things that you need to consider if you are entertaining the idea of a plea bargain.
The first thing that you have to do when you are trying to decide if you are going to enter into a plea deal is make sure you understand that you are going to have to plead guilty. You should only do this if you acknowledge that you committed the crime. If you didn’t do it, you shouldn’t enter into the plea deal. This is one of the biggest issues with plea deals — innocent people pleading guilty just so they can know what is going to happen with their case.
Another thing to remember is that there are several aspects of the case that can be negotiated. This includes the actual charge and the sentence that you will face. It might be possible to get a less serious charge or to have a sentence that isn’t the maximum allowable.
You also have to remember that the court has the final say in these cases. There is a chance that the court might reject the plea deal. This could mean that you actually don’t get a specific sentence. Make sure that you discuss this possibility ahead of time so that you know what you want to do.
Always remember that a plea deal is only one of the options that might be used to resolve your case. You should check out all the options.
Source: FindLaw, “Plea Bargains Overview,” accessed March 02, 2018
