Plea Bargains and Plea Agreements.

Why do you need an experienced litigator if you're just going to plea the case out?

A trial attorney is capable of taking something past the initial round of plea negotiations, file motions, and ultimately try the case.

That's why you need an experienced litigator - because when plea negotiations break down, we have to fall back to fighting the case.

We have to fall back to filing motions to suppress. We have to fall back to filing motions to dismiss.

We ultimately have to start teeing up for trial, and even down the line, we're trying to set it up for appeal.

The idea is that even if you do want to plea out, sometimes the prosecutor wont give us an acceptable offer, but a trial attorney is able to push the matter and get plea offer that’s acceptable.

A plea bargain is when the defendant agrees to enter a plea other than not guilty to one or more of the charges against him or her or to a lesser charge. In return, the defendant receives some benefit such as a less sever charge, probation, shorter prison sentence, or other consideration. A plea bargain is negotiated between the defense attorney and prosecutor and then formalized at a court hearing. A plea bargain ends the case, and there is no trial or further court appearances other than a possible separate sentencing hearing.

VIDEO ON SENTENCING

Not Guilty Plea

The defendant denies they charges, and wishes to contest them. Generally, all defendants enter a plea of not guilty initially.

Guilty Plea

indicates that the defendant accepts the charges against him. The defendant can plead guilty to all of the charges, some of the charges, or to a lesser charge if one is offered. A guilty plea results in a conviction of that charge with the same effect as being found guilty by a jury. If a defendant pleads guilty to only some of the charges without a plea deal in place, the case will continue for the other charges.

No Contest Plea

is effectively the same as a guilty plea in criminal court. However, in a civil lawsuit, it cannot be used as evidence of an admission of guilt because it literally means the defendant did not contest the charges, and not that they admitted to them.

Alford plea

Alford plea is a guilty plea in criminal court, the defendant in a criminal case does not admit guilt and declares innocence. Although, the defendant does believe that the evidence the prosecution has will most likely persuade a judge and/or jury that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Part of the reason for reduced sentences is to encourage defendants to take a guilty plea. In addition, a defendant who pleads guilty is seen as taking responsibility for their actions and showing remorse, and the justice system believes that they should be punished less harshly than someone who refuses to admit guilt and forces the state to take on the time and expense of a trial.

In Federal court, defendants receive an explicit benefit for pleading guilty and “accepting responsibility.” Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines 3E1.1, a defendant who accepts responsibility will receive up to a 3-point reduction in their sentence. Also, pleading out early in Federal court can result in an additional 3 point reduction under the Fast Track program. Thus, in Federal court, a defendant can receive significant reductions in their sentence by accepting responsibility and plead early.

Plea bargains are legally available in all cases. However, many prosecutors' offices have policies against offering plea bargains for certain types serious of crimes or under other special circumstances such as a repeat offender. Similarly, many offices have standard offers for less serious crimes. There is also no guarantee that the offer made will actually be more desirable than taking a chance at trial.

For a variety of reasons, DUI’s are one charge where the prosecutor will not dismiss. Thus, any plea in a DUI case usually involves dropping other counts, and a sentence agreement.

A plea bargain can be made at any time from arraignment until the jury reaches a verdict. As a practical matter, most prosecutors set an earlier deadline on plea deals or make the offer less favorable as the trial date approaches and they have to spend more time on the case.

In Kansas and Missouri state courts pleas are “non-binding.” Meaning: a Judge does not have to follow a plea. Typically, a Judge will follow a plea, but they do not have to. Theoretically, the Judge can break the plea for or against a defendant. Since a Judge can only pronounce a sentence within the rules of the law, a well-crafted plea can be done in a way that “ties the Judge’s hands” and does not leave them any room to break the plea.

In many of cases, sentencing happens weeks or months after the plea is taken. This means, you will not know whether the Judge is going to follow a plea until sentencing.

In Federal court there are two kinds of pleas: “binding,” and “non-binding.” In a binding plea, under Rule 11(c)(1)(C), the Judge announces whether they will follow the plea before imposing a sentence. If they announce that they will not follow the plea the defendant is allowed to withdraw their plea.

Yes, in an “Alford” plea, a defendant can enter a plea of guilty while maintaining their innocence. This requires they intelligently conclude it’s in their best interest and wish to receive the benefit of the bargain.