plea bargain
Trial avoidance agreement
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case where the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge or accepts a reduced sentence in exchange for avoiding trial.
Prosecutors offer plea bargains to secure convictions efficiently; defendants accept them to limit potential punishment: His lawyer negotiated a plea bargain that dropped the felony to a misdemeanor.
Most criminal cases in the United States are resolved through plea bargains rather than trials.
Charge-reading court session
- indictmentFormal charge from jury
- hearingPerceiving sound waves
- docketCourt's case schedule
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
prosecutor · defendant · defense attorney · judge · jury · trial · verdict · conviction
Firmly held belief
- sentence reductionDecrease in punishment duration
- probationSupervised trial period
- leniencyMildness in punishment
- paroleConditional early release
incarceration · fine · community service · time served · suspended sentence · restitution · diversion program · expungement
Responsible for wrongdoing
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- acknowledgmentConfirmation of receipt
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
- responsibilityState of being answerable
acceptance · allocution · remorse · self-incrimination · disclosure · waiver · rights · voluntariness
Shared position between parties
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- concessionYielding a point
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
- leverageBorrowed capital for amplified returns
counteroffer · terms · conditions · stipulation · mutual benefit · quid pro quo · immunity · dismissal
Borrowed capital for amplified returns
- risk assessmentEvaluating likelihood of harm
- cost-benefitComparing expenditure to return
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
- incentiveReward encouraging action
tactical · calculation · pressure · expedience · certainty · mitigation · damage control · concession
arraignment
Charge-reading court session
- indictmentFormal charge from jury
- hearingPerceiving sound waves
- docketCourt's case schedule
courtroom · prosecutor · defendant · defense attorney · judge · jury · trial · verdict · conviction · acquittal
conviction
Firmly held belief
- sentence reductionDecrease in punishment duration
- probationSupervised trial period
- leniencyMildness in punishment
parole · incarceration · fine · community service · time served · suspended sentence · restitution · diversion program · expungement · criminal record
guilty
Responsible for wrongdoing
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- acknowledgmentConfirmation of receipt
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
responsibility · acceptance · allocution · remorse · self-incrimination · disclosure · waiver · rights · voluntariness
agreement
Shared position between parties
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- concessionYielding a point
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
leverage · counteroffer · terms · conditions · stipulation · mutual benefit · quid pro quo · immunity · dismissal · amendment
leverage
Borrowed capital for amplified returns
- risk assessmentEvaluating likelihood of harm
- cost-benefitComparing expenditure to return
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
incentive · tactical · calculation · pressure · expedience · certainty · mitigation · damage control · concession · maneuvering
- case endingsmotion to dismiss, dropped charges, nonsuit, without prejudice, summary judgment
- courtroomjudge, jury, oath taking, lawyer, bench
- criminal justicearrest, jail, court, prison, crime
- criminal trialarraignment, defense attorney, courtroom, criminal trial, prosecutor
- justicecourtroom, trials, retributive justice, courts, gavel
- legal systemattorney, landmark cases, criminal cases, lawyers, legal precedents
plea bargainjury trial
Legal proceeding with citizen panel
trial by jury · bench trial · criminal trial · trial proceedings · trial verdict
appeal, bargain, plead, appealing, plea, bargaining, pleading, bargains, haggling