The courts
plea bargain
An agreement to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or for a lighter sentence, in exchange for giving up the trial. It resolves the overwhelming majority of cases.
In full
Roughly nineteen in twenty federal convictions come from guilty pleas. The judge must find the plea knowing and voluntary and supported by a factual basis, and is not bound by every kind of sentencing agreement. Critics point to the trial penalty, the gap between the offered plea and the exposure at trial, as pressure that can induce innocent defendants to plead.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.