If you are facing criminal charges here in California, at some point it is likely that you or your attorney will be asked to consider accepting a plea bargain to end your criminal case. The question then becomes, “should you accept it?”
There is no universal right or wrong answer. It all depends on your circumstances and the strength of the prosecutor’s case.
Plea bargains are a necessary component of the justice system
If there were no such thing as plea bargains, the immense number of all the criminal cases would bring America’s justice system to a screeching halt. Nothing would ever be adjudicated, and cases could languish for decades, denying closure to the parties.
Not all cases will be offered pleas
Cases that are especially heinous or that have been plastered across the news and social media outlets often aren’t considered eligible for plea bargaining. While it still counts as a prosecutorial win when a defendant cops a plea, the public often feels that the courts are “soft on crime.” That doesn’t keep prosecutors in their elected offices.
It could be a sign of a weak case
Prosecutors offer fewer plea bargains to defendants when they have a plethora of evidence against them. In those cases, it might be the defense attorneys approaching the prosecutors about a plea for their clients. Sometimes, that might be the best possible resolution to a case where the defendant is likely to face conviction regardless.
Weigh your options before deciding
The best plea bargains keep defendants out of jail or prison. A viable compromise could be a short term on house arrest. The better plea bargain deals might result in supervised or even unsupervised probation for the alleged offenders. Make sure that if you decide to accept a plea bargain that you will be able to live with the consequences.
