Many people associate plea deals with specific sentences. While this is one of the most common forms of plea deal terms, there are others that are also considered in many criminal cases. Anyone who is considering trying to work out a deal with the prosecution should know what might be possible. Here are a few to think about:
Some cases involve fact bargaining, which means that specific facts won’t be included in the case. Defendants might want this as a condition since it means that they might be able to keep some reputation-damaging points under wraps. It can work in the prosecution’s favor, too, since they won’t have to prove these points.
It is possible that a plea deal will include less serious charges in lieu of the more serious charges with which you were originally charged. This is beneficial to defendants who are facing very serious charges, such as drug trafficking since they won’t be convicted of those. Instead, the prosecutor drops those higher charges and replaces them with the lesser charges, such as selling drugs in place of trafficking. This type of plea bargaining can have a direct impact on the sentence since less serious charges can come with fewer penalties or less severe penalties.
You should consider all the components of a plea deal before you agree to one. An important point to remember is that you are waiving your right to an appeal, so you don’t have recourse once the official sentence is handed down. You also need to think about how this might impact your life. All criminal convictions, even through plea deals, can come with social, employment and life consequences.