

Also known as a plea agreement, plea bargains are the agreement in a criminal case in which a prosecutor and a defendant arrange to settle the case against the defendant. Plea bargains are often arranged in exchange for some agreement from the prosecutor as to the punishment and/or a reduction or dismissal of some of the charges against the defendant. In a plea bargain, the defendant may agree to plead guilty or no contest and sometimes to state specifically what the details of the crime were.