guilty plea
Defendant admits culpability
A guilty plea is a formal admission in court that one committed the charged offense.
By entering a guilty plea, defendants waive their right to trial and accept conviction: He entered a guilty plea to avoid a longer sentence.
Most criminal cases end this way, often through plea bargains negotiated with prosecutors.
- allocutionFormal speech, especially pre-sentencing
- open courtJudicial proceedings accessible publicly
- lawyerLicensed legal representative
- judgeOne who decides
- convictionFirmly held belief
accountability · confession · waiver · cut a deal · self-incrimination · defendant · arraignment · prosecutor · coercion · sentencing · time served · prison sentence · no contest · criminal record · charge · remorse · defense attorney · probation
- disclosurerevealing, disclosing, disclosure, disclose, divulge
- Criminal Defensedefense attorney, defense lawyer, defense strategy, defense team, defense witness
- court termscourt, courts, judge, judges, trial
- criminal courtcriminal court, judge, jury, trial, verdict
- Criminal Procedurearraignment, arrest, grand jury, investigation, jury trial
- criminal recordrap sheet, criminal history, convictions, felony, misdemeanor
legal outcome/strategy
guilty pleatrial
Judicial examination of claims
jury trial · acquittal · not guilty verdict · exoneration · dismissal