When should you accept a plea bargain for a criminal charge?

When faced with a criminal charge and the prosecution is willing to offer you a plea bargain, this is usually to your advantage. The only time it would not be advantageous to a defendant is if he is not guilty of the crime to which he's been accused, or the defendant and his lawyer know that the prosecution's case is extremely weak and will unable to effectively convict the accused of the crime.

In most cases, a plea bargain is going to allow the accused to face lesser penalties for a crime for which they've been accused. An example would be an accused individual facing a sentence of two to five years in prison if convicted, but a plea bargain agreement is offered by the prosecution in which he will hold the sentence to two years and not allow it to go to the five year maximum. In addition to lesser sentencing, it is also possible through a plea bargain to get the prosecutor to charge the accused with a lesser crime entirely. This could be one in which the penalty is only two years, thereby allowing the accused to receive the lesser charge and lesser sentencing. This is usually accomplished by arranging for the accused to be charged for a crime in a different category but for the same crime. An example of this would be when the defendant is charged with second degree murder, but he prosecution offers manslaughter, or instead of the felony charge it could be lowered to a misdemeanor.

To accept the plea bargain will depend a great deal on your situation. If you and your lawyer feel you have sufficient evidence to produce a reasonable doubt as to your guilt, accepting a plea bargain would not be in your best interest. Remember that it is up to the prosecutor to prove your guilt and that all your are required to do is show that the prosecution failed to meet this burden of proof - not that your were innocent. However, if the prosecution does have compelling evidence it could be that a plea bargain would be in your best interest.