Plea Bargains in Texas Courts
What is a plea bargain?
When someone is charged with a crime usually (almost always) the prosecutor will make a “offer” to “plea the case.” This means, you plea guilty to the charge, and in exchange the prosecutor will recommend to the judge that you receive a certain sentence. We call it “bargaining,” because both sides are supposed to get some benefit in the deal. The State eliminates the risk of a “Not Guilty” at trial, and the accused eliminates getting a harsher sentence at trial.
By pleading guilty in a plea bargain, you give up a lot of rights. The most important of those is the right to have a jury decide your case. You also give up your right not to incriminate yourself. Obviously, if telling the judge, “I am guilty,” is pretty incriminating. You also give up your rights to ask witnesses questions (known as confrontation). These are just a few of the rights you give up. Your defense attorney should explain all of your rights to you. Don’t take a plea if you don’t trust your lawyer.
Plea Negotiation Process
Tarrant County Perspective
In the Tarrant County criminal justice system plea negotiations are routine, but getting the best “deal” or plea bargain takes a lot of work and skill. For a case to end up in court, the police agency investigating the offense must file the case with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office (DA’s Office). Once filed, the DA’s Office determines whether sufficient evidence exists to go forward with a formal criminal charge. If the DA’s Office accepts the case, it is then assigned to a prosecutor (assistant district attorney) and a court. Felony cases are assigned to district courts and prosecutors with felony experience. Misdemeanor cases are assigned to county criminal courts with a misdemeanor prosecutor. This starts the plea negotiation process.
Once a criminal case is assigned to a prosecutor, that prosecutor begins to evaluate the case by reviewing the evidence (usually police reports, statements, and videos) provided by law enforcement. If the prosecutor is being thorough they will also contact the complaining witness (prosecutors call the “Victim” or IP – meaning Injured Party). After they have reviewed the case, the prosecutor will make what is called an initial offer on the case. This initial offer will be for a sentence (i.e. jail, prison, or probation) that fits somewhere within the range of punishment for the level of crime the accused is charged with. This initial offer most often is told to the defense lawyer at the first court setting. The prosecutor communicates the plea offer to the criminal defense lawyer and usually imposes an expiration date for the offer. Meaning the plea offer must be accepted by the accused by a certain date.
Usually, after the initial offer is made the prosecutor and the criminal defense lawyer have further discussions about the case, and this is where a skilled defense attorney is needed. During these plea discussions, a criminal defense lawyer should be thoroughly informed about your case and know all the strengths and weaknesses of the State’s. Once a defense attorney receives a plea offer from the prosecutor the defense lawyer is required to communicate the plea offer to their client. After this discussion, the accused can: (1) accept the offer; (2) reject the offer with no counter-offer; or (3) reject the offer and make a counter-offer. A counter-offer is where the defense attorney tells the prosecutors, “We are not willing to accept your plea offer, but we are willing to do X, Y, or Z.”
If the State and the defense cannot reach an agreement on the first setting, then the case is then reset for another court date where a similar negotiation process will take place. Cases will receive anywhere from two to four settings before the court sets the case for trial.
During the plea negotiation process, if you are represented by an aggressive and experienced attorney, they will point out all the weaknesses and flaws with the State’s evidence to convince the State to reduce the offer. It is also the time that evidence favorable to the defense and unknown to the State should be presented to negotiate a lesser sentence or sometimes even a possible dismissal. A good defense attorney will show the State why the case should be resolved in a favorable way for the accused and can make all the difference in the outcome of a case. A lazy or unskilled defense attorney won’t be familiar with your case and won’t be able to negotiate your case in the same manner. The best defense attorneys will do their own investigation into the facts and circumstances of the case. This can make all of the difference. Getting the best plea offer from the State often has everything to do with who your criminal defense attorney is and their ability to negotiate.
When Plea Negotiations Fail
When the State and the defense cannot agree on the terms and conditions of a plea or if the accused does not want to plea, the next step is a trial. Some criminal defense lawyers have a reputation around the courthouse as being either scared to try a case or the prosecutors know the defense attorney will never actually take the case to trial. These lawyers may be known as “plea lawyers.” Having an attorney with this reputation is devastating to your bargaining position with the prosecutor. These Plea Lawyers seem to spend more effort trying to get their clients to agree to the State’s offer than trying to get the State to make a better offer (or dismiss). You need an attorney the State knows will not only take a case to trial, but will fight like hell during trial.
Plea negotiations are a normal and common part of all criminal cases. Whether a person is facing a misdemeanor or felony charge in Tarrant County or another county, plea negotiations will be a part of the process. It is important that someone facing criminal accusation has a skilled, experienced, and aggressive Fort Worth criminal defense attorney with the ability to negotiate the most favorable plea possible if a plea is being considered by the accused. The attorneys at Cofer Law have a reputation for being in trial and never being afraid to try any case. This reputation has helped Cofer Law obtain countless reductions, dismissals and fair plea offers for their clients.