plea bargaining
Dealing for leniency
Plea bargaining is the negotiation between a prosecutor and defendant to resolve criminal charges without trial.
The defendant agrees to plead guilty, typically to a lesser charge or in exchange for a lighter sentence recommendation.
The practice handles the vast majority of criminal cases in the American justice system: His lawyer advised plea bargaining rather than risking a jury trial.
Government's trial lawyer
- defendantParty facing charges
- defense attorneyLawyer representing the accused
- judgeOne who decides
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
arraignment · indictment · hearing · sentencing · docket · pretrial · conference · approval
Agreement or distribution
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
- agreementShared position between parties
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- concessionYielding a point
sentence reduction · cooperation · testimony · admission · exchange · offer · counteroffer · leverage
prosecutor
Government's trial lawyer
- defendantParty facing charges
- defense attorneyLawyer representing the accused
- judgeOne who decides
courtroom · arraignment · indictment · hearing · sentencing · docket · pretrial · conference · approval · rejection
deal
Agreement or distribution
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
- agreementShared position between parties
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
concession · sentence reduction · cooperation · testimony · admission · exchange · offer · counteroffer · leverage · terms
- courtroomjudge, jury, oath taking, lawyer, bench
- criminal justicearrest, jail, court, prison, crime
- criminal lawcrime, felony, misdemeanor, murder, robbery
- courtroom activitiescross-examination, opening statement, closing argument, jury deliberation, sentencing hearing
- criminal courtcriminal court, judge, jury, trial, verdict
- Criminal Procedurearraignment, arrest, grand jury, investigation, jury trial
plea bargainingjury trial
Legal proceeding with citizen panel
trial by jury · bench trial · criminal trial · litigation · adjudication
bargain, plead, plea, bargaining, pleading, bargains, pleaded, pleads, bargained