A plea bargain often eliminates a time consuming and expensive trial but it will normally demand that the accused plead guilty to something. Many action groups question the plea bargaining procedure asking if justice is truly being served by giving a person guilty of a specific crime the opportunity to plead guilty to a crime with the potential of a lesser penalty than the penalty that would have been adjudged had a trial been held. This is an argument that probably will never see a answer, but plea bargaining is a valid tactic used by a criminal lawyer in Glen Ellyn.
Once a person has been arrested and accused of committing a specific crime, there is a very good chance that the criminal lawyer will have entered into negotiations with the prosecuting attorney in an attempt to hammer out a deal before the case goes to trial. A plea bargain expects that the accused pleads guilty to an offense which carries a shorter or less severe penalty than the one he or she has been charged with. When a plea bargain has been negotiated, there is no need for a trail as the accused has pled guilty to the crime the lawyers agreed to.
When the accused is obviously guilty of the original charges and guilt can be proven with strong evidence, the accused will usually be eager to plead guilty to a lesser charge. If on the other hand the accused is truly innocent, pleading guilty to any crime is a mockery of justice. If the accused is innocent of any crime at all he or she is well advised to plead such and demand a jury trial. The prosecutor may wish to avoid this but it is the defendants right to demand to be tried in front of a judge and jury. Even if a plea bargain can be struck that carries no jail time, the innocent person will carry a life long criminal record and probably will face probation at least and perhaps even a large fine.
The defendant who is guilty does not benefit from a guilty plea to any crime but the lawyers do. The defense lawyer benefits by avoiding an expensive trial but on the other hand the lawyer does not get the opportunity to plead the innocence of his client in court.
Prosecuting attorneys always seem to have a huge number of cases in front of them and there is never the time to take every case to court. From the prosecutor’s point of view, a plea bargain guarantees a conviction and this is often the extent of their concern. Rarely though, would either the criminal lawyer in Glen Ellyn or the prosecutor even consider a plea bargain when the crime is horrific.
