Why we Plea Bargain

When most people think of an attorney, they generally think of a criminal defense attorney like television's Perry Mason. Mason never lost a case even though he always seemed be battling against the same district attorney. Of course it probably helped that all of Perry Mason's clients were innocent and had the money to pay for an attorney who never loses a case. 

In real life, it's not that easy. Did you know that the majority of practicing criminal defense attorneys has never even been in a courtroom? Most criminal attorneys are able to plea bargain their client's case without ever going to trial. The majority of cases are plea bargained down for a variety of reasons. It is in the best interest of both the defense as well as the prosecuting attorney to not take every case with every offender to trial. It can get extremely expensive for the state to put on a trial as we have all seen from the most recent famous case in Florida involving a woman who was accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter. This case did not end well for the state and the taxpayers who can ill afford it are still digging out from the hundreds of thousands of dollars it cost to go to trial.

The decision to go to court does not rest with the defense lawyer or the prosecuting lawyer. It is the decision of the defendant to accept a plea bargain or to go to trial. This is a gamble for any defendant to take because the offer that is put on the table to plea bargain is usually the best sanction offer that they are going to receive Going to court is gambling that they will be found innocent and not receive a step or penalty than one that was offered before the trial.

For a defendant who is accused of a criminal charge, the right to a speedy trial can sometimes mean waiting up to a year or more before you will actually see the inside of a courtroom. Again, this is based on the defendant under the guidance of their lawyer waiving certain rights in order for their attorney to be better prepared to build their defense case.

Another reason plea-bargaining is so successful comes down to defendants rarely having the money to hire their own lawyer and be independent on his court appointed one for their defense. Court appointed lawyers are notoriously underpaid, overworked and often not even criminal defense attorneys, but rather attorneys with a different area of specialty. This can make it even more difficult for a defendant to build their defense and accepting a plea bargain can sometimes be the best alternative to gambling in court.

The criminal justice system certainly has its flaws and is far from perfect, however, the intent behind it is still to give every defendant the fairest trial possible, even though the system may not always work in the attempts to do.