in criminal procedure, a negotiation between the defendant and his attorney on one
side and the prosecutor on the other, in which the defendant agrees to plead "guilty"
or "no contest" to some crimes, in return for reduction of the severity of the charges,
dismissal of some of the charges, the prosecutor's willingness to recommend a particular
sentence or some other benefit to the defendant. Sometimes one element of the bargain
is that the defendant reveal information such as location of stolen goods, names
of others participating in the crime or admission of other crimes (such as a string
of burglaries). The judge must agree to the result of the plea bargain before accepting
the plea. If he does not, then the bargain is cancelled. Reasons for the bargain
include a desire to cut down on the number of trials, danger to the defendant of
a long term in prison if convicted after trial and the ability to get information
on criminal activity from the defendant. There are three dangers a) an innocent
defendant may be pressured into a confession and plea out of fear of a severe penalty
if convicted; b) particularly vicious criminals will get lenient treatment and be
back "on the street" in a short time; c) results in unequal treatment. Public antipathy
to plea bargaining has led to some state statutes prohibiting the practice, but
informal discussions can get around the ban.
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