Is it legal to agree to a plea bargain if you're innocent?

[Pedro de San Patricio]

Obviously it's just a hypothetical. Say you're charged with a crime. You didn't commit this crime. Normally you would wait up to a year or three for the case to be heard, go through the trial process, and be likely to get convicted regardless. There's also the option of waiving your right to a trial and pleading guilty. On one hand, it would likely yield a reduced sentence compared to what you probably would have been given, but on the other it's technically lying to the court. I know people occasionally do this but is it legal? Can you openly express that you're only doing it because it's ultimately less of a hassle, or do you at least have to make a show of guilt? Does it count as perjury?

 

[DarkFury]

Not sure about perjury but it does show a head full of stupid.

 

[Pedro de San Patricio]

In one case, you're guaranteed to a speedy and reduced conviction. In the other, you're guaranteed to a trial, a longer wait until the trial, and the possibility of being convicted with greater penalties, potentially with even more charges tacked on to make sure the original ones stick. The latter is a gamble on the judicial system. The former is cutting your losses. Apparently about 90-95% of cases in the US are settled this way. It's not inconceivable that at least a few of those defendants are just trying to play it safe.

 

[foggedinn]

Yes, it is lawful for one person to accept another man's punishment. Christ is the ultimate example.

 

[westwall]

Obviously it's just a hypothetical. Say you're charged with a crime. You didn't commit this crime. Normally you would wait up to a year or three for the case to be heard, go through the trial process, and be likely to get convicted regardless. There's also the option of waiving your right to a trial and pleading guilty. On one hand, it would likely yield a reduced sentence compared to what you probably would have been given, but on the other it's technically lying to the court. I know people occasionally do this but is it legal? Can you openly express that you're only doing it because it's ultimately less of a hassle, or do you at least have to make a show of guilt? Does it count as perjury?

It happens all the time. Sadly the US has a "legal" system...not a "justice" system.

 

[airplanemechanic]

Of course its legal. Just be a single guy accused of touching a child.

Plea guilty and do 5 years, plea not guilty and let a 5yo who was coerced by their mom get on the stand and cry and say you touched her wee-wee and hope a jury finds you not guilty? Get convicted and get 25 years.

Which route are you going to take?

 

[Jarlaxle]

A shotgun under the chin.

 

[Katzndogz]

It is absolutely legal. No one cares what you plead to. Just as long as you plead out.

 

[Agit8r]

Obviously it's just a hypothetical. Say you're charged with a crime. You didn't commit this crime. Normally you would wait up to a year or three for the case to be heard, go through the trial process, and be likely to get convicted regardless. There's also the option of waiving your right to a trial and pleading guilty. On one hand, it would likely yield a reduced sentence compared to what you probably would have been given, but on the other it's technically lying to the court. I know people occasionally do this but is it legal? Can you openly express that you're only doing it because it's ultimately less of a hassle, or do you at least have to make a show of guilt? Does it count as perjury?

That is what happens in this country to most people who cannot afford an attorney. It's why informed people consider the term "justice system" to be an Orwellian euphemism.

 

[airplanemechanic]

It is absolutely legal. No one cares what you plead to. Just as long as you plead out.

It's not plead, its plea.

 

[Katzndogz]

It is absolutely legal. No one cares what you plead to. Just as long as you plead out.

It's not plead, its plea.

You file a plea. You plead out to a charge. No one who speaks English "pleas" to anything. Plea is a noun. Plead is a verb.

 

[Katzndogz]

The judge never says "how do you plea." It's "How do you plead."

 

[Debra K]

Obviously it's just a hypothetical. Say you're charged with a crime. You didn't commit this crime. Normally you would wait up to a year or three for the case to be heard, go through the trial process, and be likely to get convicted regardless. There's also the option of waiving your right to a trial and pleading guilty. On one hand, it would likely yield a reduced sentence compared to what you probably would have been given, but on the other it's technically lying to the court. I know people occasionally do this but is it legal? Can you openly express that you're only doing it because it's ultimately less of a hassle, or do you at least have to make a show of guilt? Does it count as perjury?

Yes, it is legal. See Alford plea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[The Professor]

There is something in the law called an Alford plea in which the defendant claims he is innocent but admits the the prosecution could likely prove the charge.

“An Alford plea is when a defendant enters a plea of guilty without making an admission of guilt. In other words, he pleads guilty but at the same time he maintains that he’s innocent. This is very different from the typical guilty plea where the defendant usually admits, in open court, that he’s guilty of the crime.

“The term Alford plea comes from a 1970 US Supreme Court decision in which the defendant was charged with first-degree murder, which was punishable by death under the laws of the state where the murder was committed. However, under those state laws, if the defendant pled guilty, he’d be sentenced to life imprisonment. The defendant was offered a deal in which he agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder with a maximum prison sentence of 30 years. At the hearing on his plea, the defendant testified that he didn’t commit the murder and that he was pleading guilty simply to avoid the death penalty.”

Is an Alford Plea the Same as a Guilty Plea?

“In an Alford Plea, the criminal defendant does not admit the act, but admits that the prosecution could likely prove the charge. The court will pronounce the defendant guilty......An individual accused of crime may voluntarily, knowingly, and understandingly consent to the imposition of a prison sentence even if he is unwilling or unable to admit his participation in the acts constituting the crime *** when *** a defendant intelligently concludes that his interests require entry of a guilty plea and the record before the judge contains strong evidence of actual guilt"

Alford Plea Law & Legal Definition