Plea Bargaining
This is an agreement in a criminal case between the Crown
prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to
a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor.
This may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to a less serious charge, or to one of several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges; or it may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal charge in return for a more lenient sentence.
A plea bargain allows both parties to avoid a lengthy criminal trial and may allow criminal defendants to avoid the risk of conviction at trial on a more serious charge.
For example, a criminal defendant charged with theft, the conviction of which would usually require imprisonment, may be offered the opportunity to plead guilty to a less serious theft charge, which may not carry jail time.