A Plea Bargain – Advantages, Risks and When It Is Worth It
A plea agreement is an agreement between the prosecution and the defense in which the defendant admits agreed facts, usually amended and narrowed, and in return the charges and sentencing position are agreed: a fixed sentence, a sentencing range, or freedom to argue subject to a ceiling.
What is a plea agreement?
A plea agreement is an understanding between the prosecution and the defense in which the defendant admits agreed facts, usually amended and narrowed, and in return the counts in the indictment and the sentencing position are agreed: an agreed sentence, a sentencing range, or freedom to argue with a ceiling. Most criminal cases in Israel end in plea agreements, and the real question is not "if" but "when and on what terms."
The advantages and the risks
Advantages: certainty instead of a gamble; reduction of the counts in the indictment, sometimes from a felony to a misdemeanor, a change that affects the record and the entire future; shortening an exhausting and costly process; and opening the door to outcomes such as non-conviction and community service. Risks: an admission is almost irreversible; the court is not bound by the agreement and may depart from it (although in such a case it will usually allow withdrawal of the admission); and an agreement signed too early, before the examination of the evidence has been exhausted, may amount to giving up a case that could have been won.
A good agreement is born from a position of strength
The quality of the agreement derives directly from the quality of the defense: a prosecution that understands that opposite it stands defense counsel who knows every weakness in the case, and is prepared to conduct a full trial, offers a completely different agreement from one facing a pressured defendant. Therefore, the correct approach is the opposite of intuition: first build a defense case as though you are going all the way, and only then approach negotiations.
Legal representation in negotiations with the prosecution
Israel Arama, a former member of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, conducted negotiations on plea agreements from the prosecution side, and knows exactly what drives prosecutors to be flexible, what their red lines are, and where there is real room to move. Seek an initial consultation without obligation before agreeing to any offer.
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