Plea bargains are a staple of every cop and courtroom show on TV. "Copping a plea" seems to be the script writer's favorite trick for getting the goods on the ultimate bad guy. You're familiar with the scene: the tough cop or prosecutor leans on the minor crook, promising him a lighter sentence if he gives up the diabolical plot or rats out the gun-crazed maniac they're trying to put away. It's a highly dramatic way to move the plot along involving lots of anguished close ups and the occasional angry table thumping. In real life, it's not nearly so dramatic.
Plea bargaining is fairly standard procedure in criminal cases, says Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez. "Most people who are charged with committing a crime will have to decide whether to go to trial or to accept a plea bargain," he explains. "Plea bargains are available to the innocent and guilty, alike." Generally, a plea bargain is an agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant's attorney in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a less serious charge than the one originally brought or pleads guilty to only one of several charges brought. The defendant benefits by serving a shorter or less onerous sentence than what a jury might decide to award.
There are a number of reasons a prosecutor might offer a defendant a plea bargain. The case against the defendant may be largely circumstantial and the prosecutor may prefer to negotiate some punishment than allow an individual he believes to be guilty to go free. Witnesses may be unavailable or reluctant to testify which can potentially weaken or undermine the prosecutor's case. The prosecutor's case load may be so overloaded that he does not have the manpower to prosecute every case and must pick and choose the most egregious to take to trial. Likewise, the courts may be overloaded with cases or lack a sufficient number of public defenders to guarantee defendants the required proper and speedy trial.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles County are under considerable pressure to negotiate plea agreements to reduce the burden on the prosecutor's office and on the courts. "A plea offer is made in almost every criminal case," Rodriguez says. Whether or not to accept a plea offer is the responsibility of the defendant alone. Hiring an astute criminal defense attorney who understands the details and consequences of a plea offer and who can aggressively negotiate to get his client the best possible deal can significantly impact a defendant's sentence.
