A negotiated plea agreement in a criminal matter between the prosecutor and the attorney for the accused
Notes:
- The plea bargain usually results in the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a reduction in the severity of the penalty.
- Courts favor plea bargains because they result in judicial expediency and predictability in the outcome of the matter.
- Today, more than 95 percent of all criminal cases are resolved through the plea bargain process.
- To illustrate how pervasive plea bargaining has become, Supreme Court Justice Kennedy stated in his opinion in Missouri v. Frye, “…[I]n today’s criminal justice system the negotiation of a plea bargain is not just some adjunct to the criminal justice system – it is the criminal justice system.”
