In criminal law cases, it is extremely common for the prosecutor in the case to offer a plea bargain to the defendant. If you are facing charges, you are the defendant, and you will need a lawyer. One of the ways your lawyer will help you in your case is by assisting you with evaluating the plea bargain the court offers. Evaluating this offer is highly important, as it will determine the outcome of the case. Here are several things you should understand about this decision you have to make.

What a plea bargain really is

A plea bargain is a common event in criminal cases, and it is basically a deal. When a plea bargain arises in a criminal matter, it is a prosecutor saying that in exchange for a guilty plea, the court will reduce or remove some of the charges. For example, if you are facing a Felony 6 charge, the court might offer a deal to drop it to a misdemeanor charge if you accept it.

The alternative to accepting a plea

The purpose of the court offering the plea to you is to eliminate the need to have you go through a trial. While you have the legal right to have a criminal trial for the charges you face, you should realize that a criminal trial takes time. You will not only have to wait for the court to schedule the trial, but you will also have to appear in court for days to hold the trial. If the jury finds that you are guilty, you will be stuck with the original charges you were facing for the crime, and there will be no chance to go back and accept the plea bargain in the case.

The factors to analyze in this decision

There are several things you should analyze when deciding what to do when faced with the option of a plea bargain. The main thing, though, is to look at the evidence. If the evidence points at you from every angle, the court will likely find you guilty, which means you would face harsher consequences if you chose to forego the plea bargain and accept a trial instead.

If you are currently awaiting your court hearings for a criminal matter and have not sought legal help from a law firm yet, you should call a criminal defense law attorney today to get help.