Understanding Plea Agreements: How Defendants and Prosecutors Negotiate Deals (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: In this video, we will discuss plea agreements. A plea agreement is a deal between a defendant and a prosecutor. In a typical plea agreement, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge, a less severe crime, and he hopes to receive a lighter punishment. You might also hear plea agreements referred to as plea bargains. Let's say David commits a robbery. David is arrested and he's charged or accused of the most serious type of robbery, first degree robbery. And we'll say first degree robbery has a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. There are lesser degrees of robbery, but first degree is the most serious. Sometime before trial, the prosecutor will probably have a meeting with David and David's lawyer. The prosecutor will explain that if David is found guilty of first degree robbery, the judge could sentence him to prison for up to 25 years. But the prosecutor will say she's willing to offer David a deal. He can choose to go on trial for first degree robbery or he can choose to plead guilty, admit his guilt, to second degree robbery. The punishment for second degree robbery should be less severe than the punishment for first degree robbery. If David takes the deal, he will go to the judge and plead guilty to second degree robbery. Judges almost always accept the guilty plea. Because there was no trial, the government saves time and money. The defendant avoids stricter punishment. Although controversial, most defendants in the United States take plea agreements. If you'd like to discuss plea agreements or any other matter related to U.S. law, stop by my website and feel free to send me an email.