Plea Bargains Play an Important Role in Criminal Cases

Many people don’t understand why people who are facing criminal charges would accept plea bargains. Some people don’t understand why prosecutors would allow cases to be settled in this manner. The fact of the matter is that plea bargains play a big role in the criminal justice system.

Plea bargains help resolve as much as 90 percent of the cases that are moving through the criminal justice system. Both sides of the case can benefit greatly from these deals.

For both the prosecution and the defense, a plea deal takes away the uncertainty of the outcome of the case. The two sides can work on the outcome of the case. The judge does have to agree to the deal, so this must be considered.

Both sides can save money and time by coming to a plea agreement. The prosecutors usually have a heavy case load that can be relieved some by plea deals. The defendant won’t have to wait for what could be a lengthy trial. The speed of the plea deal versus a trial can mean that it costs less money.

While some defendants who enter into plea deals will be able to avoid jail time, others take the deal to minimize the amount of time they will be incarcerated. Some choose to try to have the charges they face lessened. All of these are possible in plea deals, but there are limits to some possibilities because of the circumstances of some cases.

Before you agree to a plea deal, you need to think about all the options that you have available. And, one imperative point to remember is that you mustn’t accept a plea deal if you don’t want to admit that you committed the crime.