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| - A very few attorneys can make a living solely representing innocent people who have been falsely accused of crimes. Perry Mason and Phoenix Wright, for example. But most defense attorneys don't have that luxury. Guilty people are legally entitled to representation too (at least in the USA) and odds are a given lawyer will wind up with at least a few of them as clients. In some cases, the defendant will be required to testify against other criminals as part of the deal, or to provide other services. Some dramatic situations that might be seen with a Plea Bargain:
- A plea bargain was a legal agreement whereby one agreed to accept a sentence in order to gain a concession from a judge or other person of authority. Plea bargaining was a Ferengi legal tradition, according to Benjamin Sisko. In 2369, believing it was in the best interest of Deep Space 9 for Quark to continue to maintain his bar, but knowing the Ferengi did not want to stay aboard, Sisko used the fact that Nog was in custody to negotiate a deal – namely, that Quark would stay if Nog was released. (DS9: "Emissary")
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| abstract
| - A plea bargain was a legal agreement whereby one agreed to accept a sentence in order to gain a concession from a judge or other person of authority. Plea bargaining was a Ferengi legal tradition, according to Benjamin Sisko. In 2369, believing it was in the best interest of Deep Space 9 for Quark to continue to maintain his bar, but knowing the Ferengi did not want to stay aboard, Sisko used the fact that Nog was in custody to negotiate a deal – namely, that Quark would stay if Nog was released. (DS9: "Emissary") In 2373, Richard Bashir turned himself in and agreed to serve time in prison for having illegal genetic engineering conducted on his son Julian, in exchange for Julian being allowed to remain in Starfleet. (DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume")
- A very few attorneys can make a living solely representing innocent people who have been falsely accused of crimes. Perry Mason and Phoenix Wright, for example. But most defense attorneys don't have that luxury. Guilty people are legally entitled to representation too (at least in the USA) and odds are a given lawyer will wind up with at least a few of them as clients. Now, if the prosecution's case is weak, or you've got a flair for the dramatic, Courtroom Antics and looking for technicalities might win the day. But sometimes the evidence is airtight, the prosecutor is a pro, and the judge has no mercy. At that point, the client's best interest might lie in making a Plea Bargain. Essentially, the defendant agrees to plead "guilty" to one or more charges, in exchange for a lighter sentence. Often, a lesser charge is agreed to, avoiding a harsher penalty. For example, plea bargaining a felony down to misdemeanor, or an offense that would get the defendant on a "sex offenders" listing down to one that will not. The prosecutor may also recommend a lighter sentence to the judge, usually within the standard range. For instance, crime A is worth 6-9 months, crime B is worth 18-24 months. The accused was originally charged with crime B, but bargains and pleads guilty to crime A, and in exchange, the prosecutor recommends a sentence of 6 months. The judge may choose to give more, but only up to 9 months. Also note that the acceptance of the plea bargain is entirely dependent on the judge: if he or she feels the plea bargain is a gross miscarriage of justice (if a first-degree murder is pleaded down to manslaughter for example), the plea bargain can be rejected. If this happens, expect the judge to rebuke the prosecution. In some cases, the defendant will be required to testify against other criminals as part of the deal, or to provide other services. And it's a pretty good deal for the prosecution too, usually. Sure, they probably could have gotten a conviction, but full trials take time, and money, and tie up attorneys who could be working on the next case. It has been pointed out many times that if a sizable number of defendants suddenly refused to plea-bargain it would cause a collapse of the legal system, as the government would be unable to hold trials for them all. In the United States as much as 97% of cases are resolved by plea bargaining. Note also this can be subject to Eagleland Osmosis. In most civil law nations it's simply not possible. Even if you plead guilty they do a full trial to establish how much time you get. In the other Common Law nations, it's officially frowned on and officially doesn't happen. Unofficially it happens all the time, but it's considered very impolite to suggest it. This has been a huge issue at international tribunals. Depending on conditions in the facility a suspect is held in pre-trial, it could also be seen as coercing a confession. With the vastly over crowded court system, any case which is NOT settled in a plea bargain is one where either the defense feels there is a very good chance to win or the prosecution feels the crime is so bad and has so much publicity they won't. Because a Plea Bargain is not nearly as dramatic as a case that goes to trial, the frequency of the two is inverted between Real Life and fiction. Some dramatic situations that might be seen with a Plea Bargain:
* The attorney tries to get one for a client, but the client has the attitude I Won't Say I'm Guilty, forcing a trial to go forward.
* If the client is innocent, an Amoral Attorney may pressure him to do a Plea Bargain anyway, because the case would be too hard to win, or for less savory reasons.
* A particularly vile defendant offers a plea bargain that essentially lets him get off scot-free, and the prosecution refuses it.
* The main story is about someone else's trial, and the person who made a Plea Bargain testifies against them as part of the deal. Naturally, the second defendant's attorney will cast aspersions on the witness' motivations and veracity. Examples of Plea Bargain include:
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