{"id":1243,"date":"2019-04-19T14:39:57","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T14:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/?p=1243"},"modified":"2019-04-19T14:39:58","modified_gmt":"2019-04-19T14:39:58","slug":"is-a-plea-bargain-the-same-as-a-plea-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/is-a-plea-bargain-the-same-as-a-plea-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a Plea Bargain the Same as a Plea Deal?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you are facing criminal charges, it is very likely that\nyou will be offered some alternatives to the maximum penalties for your crimes\nif you plead guilty. Before taking any chances on your rights and your freedoms,\nbe sure to discuss your legal defense options with a trusted criminal defense\nlawyer who can protect you. In the meantime, it will help you to clear up some\nconfusion regarding guilty and non-guilty pleas, including how the law defines\na plea bargain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Criminal
Criminal Defense Law Firm 317-636-7514<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plea Bargains<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

A plea bargain IS<\/em>\nthe same as a plea deal; they are legal terms that are used interchangeably to\ndescribe the same legal principal or action. In plainest terms, a plea deal is\na binding legal agreement in a criminal case made between a defendant and the prosecutor\nin which the defendant agrees to plead guilty to the original criminal charges\n(or to a lesser charge or lighter sentence) instead of going to trial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to receive a plea deal, a prosecutor must be\nwilling to offer one. A defendant cannot request a plea bargain for their\ncriminal case. Furthermore, once a defendant agrees to a plea bargain, neither\nthey nor the prosecutor can withdraw the deal. So what do prosecutors offer in\nplea deals? Generally, the prosecutor will agree to recommend a lighter sentence\nto the court, suggest that the court drop one or more criminal charges, or\nagree not to compete against the defendant\u2019s requested sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plea Deal or No Deal?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

So why to defendants prefer to take plea deals instead of\ngoing to trial? Because if the defendant chooses to go to trial, the forfeit the\nplea deal, and risk being convicted of the maximum charges and penalties.\nHowever, courts must approve plea deals before they can be handed down to a\ndefendant. So just because the prosecution offers a plea bargain does not mean\nthe court will ultimately approve it for a defendant\u2019s criminal case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advantages of plea deals are easy to see; not only will you\nbe given a lesser charge, or have charges reduced or dismissed, you will also\nbe given lighter penalties for your conviction. However, there are also grave\ndisadvantages to accepting a plea bargain, namely waiving some of your\nconstitutional rights, such as the right not to incriminate oneself, the right\nto a jury trial, and the right to confront one’s accuser. By choosing trial\nover a plea deal, a defendant preserves these constitutional rights and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, a plea bargain always results in a conviction,\nwhich can also be a severe disadvantage. For example, if you are charged with rape,\nbut you are entirely innocent, you may not want to falsely plead guilty under\nany circumstances, and then be put on a sexual offender list for the rest of\nyour life. Worst of all, plea deals are not really set in stone. A judge or\nprosecutor can change their minds once the sentence is being handed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to a Trusted Criminal Defense Lawyer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Call 317-636-7514<\/strong> to schedule a free initial consultation with aggressive Indiana criminal defense attorney<\/a>, David E. Lewis, who will stop at nothing to protect your rights and preserve your freedoms. With decades of hands-on experience, you can trust Attorney David E. Lewis to build you a strong and impactful defense against your criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you are facing criminal charges, it is very likely that you will be offered some alternatives to the maximum penalties for your crimes if you plead guilty. Before taking any chances on your rights and your freedoms, be sure … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1],"tags":[728,729,726,253,725,724,723,727],"class_list":["post-1243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense","category-criminal-law","tag-advantages-plea-bargains","tag-disadvantages-plea-bargains","tag-plea-bargain-lawyer-indiana","tag-plea-bargains","tag-plea-bargains-and-plea-deals","tag-plea-bargains-facts","tag-plea-deals","tag-should-i-take-a-plea-bargain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1243"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1245,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1243\/revisions\/1245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}