Plea Bargain: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''I was convicted of a crime I did not commit. I plea-bargained down from the one I actually did.''|'''Rufus T. "Buck" Wild''', ''[[Icon (Comic Book)|Icon]]''}}

Now, if the prosecution's case is weak, or you've got a flair for the dramatic, [[Courtroom Antics]] and [[My Rule Fu Is Stronger Than Yours|looking for technicalities]] might [[Off Onon a Technicality|win the day]]. But sometimes the evidence is airtight, the prosecutor is a pro, and the judge has no mercy. At that point, the client's best interest might lie in making a [['''Plea Bargain]]'''.

Essentially, the defendant agrees to plead "guilty" to one or more charges, in exchange for a lighter sentence. Often, a lesser charge is agreed to, avoiding a harsher penalty. For example, plea bargaining a felony down to misdemeanor, or an offense that would get the defendant on a "sex offenders" listing down to one that will not. The prosecutor may also ''recommend'' a lighter sentence to the judge, usually within the standard range. For instance, crime A is worth 6-96–9 months, crime B is worth 18-2418–24 months. The accused was originally charged with crime B, but bargains and pleads guilty to crime A, and in exchange, the prosecutor recommends a sentence of 6 months. The judge may choose to give more, but only up to 9 months. Also note that the acceptance of the plea bargain is entirely dependent on the judge: if he or she feels the plea bargain is a gross miscarriage of justice (if a first-degree murder is pleaded down to manslaughter for example), the plea bargain can be ''rejected''. If this happens, expect the judge to rebuke the prosecution.

Because a [['''Plea Bargain]]''' is not nearly as dramatic as a case that goes to trial, the frequency of the two is inverted between [[Real Life]] and fiction.

Some dramatic situations that might be seen with a [['''Plea Bargain]]''':

* If the client is innocent, an [[Amoral Attorney]] may pressure him to do a [['''Plea Bargain]]''' anyway, because the case would be too hard to win, or for less savory reasons.

* The main story is about someone else's trial, and the person who made a [['''Plea Bargain]]''' testifies against them as part of the deal. Naturally, the second defendant's attorney will cast aspersions on the witness' motivations and veracity.

* As seen in the page quote, Buck Wild from [[Milestone Comics]]'s ''[[Icon (Comic Book)|Icon]]'' series benefited from one of these.

* Attempts at plea bargains are common in the various ''[[Law and Order|Law And Order]]'' series, usually between the apprehension and trial phases.

* In the second case of ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]: Justice for All'', the first thing Franziska tells Phoenix at the start of the trial is that he would be pleading within the first 10 minutes of the trial. Phoenix is later gave the choice of pleading or not, but the situation is a [[But Thou Must!]] and he ends up not pleading.

* ''[[Canada|Canadian]]'' serial killer Karla Homolka is one infamous example of a plea bargain. After assisting her husband Paul Bernardo in the murder and rape of three girls (including her own sister) in the city of St. Catharine'sCatharines, she struck a deal with the prosecutors and received a 12 -year sentence in exchange for taking the stand against Bernardo, who ended up getting life. Unfortunately, not long after the trial closed, tapes were found of the murders that revealed that Karla had had more to do with the murders than previously thought. For this reason, the case is often referred to as "the [[Deal Withwith the Devil]]."