What is a "plea bargain"?

What is a "plea bargain"?

Plea bargaining is the process that takes place between defense lawyers, prosecutors, and judges to make sure that the criminal justice system operates efficiently. Let me give you an example: In the courthouse of your major city there are 10 courtrooms but there are 100 cases. The justice system can only do trials for 10 cases - maybe less, because they need a couple of courtrooms just to run the things that go through. Because every case can't go to trial, The People offer plea bargains - they offer a deal of less than the full punishment in order for the person to plead guilty at an early phase.