How Federal Plea Bargains Work

How Federal Plea Bargains Work

Plea bargaining is super common in federal criminal cases. Like, over 90% of federal cases end in a plea deal, not a trial. That’s because going to trial is super risky if you’re facing federal charges. The feds have like a 99% conviction rate at trial since they rarely bring weak cases.

So for most people charged with federal crimes, making a deal is the best option to reduce your sentence. But federal plea bargains can be confusing. Here’s an overview of how they work and what’s typically included:

The Charges

The first thing a federal plea agreement will spell out is what charges you’re pleading guilty to. This is important because it determines your maximum sentence exposure.

Federal prosecutors often start with a huge laundry list of charges in the indictment, but they’ll agree to drop some of them in a plea deal. Dropping charges is a big incentive for defendants to make a deal instead of risking trial.

For example, let’s say you’re indicted on 1 count of wire fraud, which carries a max of 20 years, and 3 counts of money laundering, each with a 10 year max. That’s up to 50 years if you go to trial and lose!

But in a plea deal, the prosecutor might agree to drop 2 money laundering charges so you’d only plead to 1 count of wire fraud and 1 count of money laundering. That reduces your exposure to 30 years.

See how it works? The charges section is where the government gives up some counts to entice you to plead guilty.

Factual Basis

The plea agreement will also contain a “factual basis” section. This is where you admit the specific facts of what you did to commit the crimes you’re pleading guilty to.

It’s basically saying “I agree I did X, Y, and Z illegal things.” This locks you into a story that you can’t later change at sentencing or appeal.

The factual basis also limits what facts the judge can consider when imposing your sentence. So your lawyer will fight to keep harmful or aggravating details out of this section so they don’t hurt you at sentencing.

Sentencing Guidelines

Here’s the meat and potatoes of federal plea bargains – the sentencing guidelines calculations. This section spells out how the guidelines will be applied in your case.

The federal sentencing guidelines are like a formula that gives a recommended sentencing range based on the severity of your offense and your criminal history. The guidelines use a point system – more points means a higher sentence recommendation.

In a plea deal, the prosecutor and your defense lawyer will negotiate how the guidelines should be calculated and how many points you should get. Common things you’ll negotiate:

• Your base offense level – how serious the charges are
• Specific offense characteristics – points for things like amount of financial loss, having a gun, etc.
• Whether you deserve any reductions for “acceptance of responsibility” by pleading guilty
• Your criminal history score based on any prior convictions

Scoring fewer points means a lower guidelines range and less prison time. So the guidelines section is where a lot of the horse trading happens to reduce your sentence exposure.

Sentence Recommendation

After calculating the guidelines, the plea agreement will state what actual sentence the prosecutor is recommending. Often this will be a sentence “within the advisory guidelines range” – meaning within the range produced by the guidelines scoring.

But sometimes you can negotiate for an even lower recommendation through a “departure” or “variance” from the guidelines. Things like cooperating against other defendants or having serious health issues can justify a lower recommendation.

The sentence recommendation is not binding on the judge, but judges usually stick close to it. So negotiating this section is critical to reduce the years you’ll serve.

What Rights You’re Giving Up

Plea agreements also spell out all the rights you’re waiving by pleading guilty. This includes stuff like:

• Right to trial by jury
• Right to see, hear and cross-examine witnesses
• Right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself
• Right to make the government prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

They make you acknowledge you’re giving up these rights because pleading guilty is such a big deal. Once you admit guilt, there’s no trial and no taking it back.

That’s why it’s critical to only plead guilty if the plea deal is solid. Don’t rush into it or let them pressure you. Make sure your lawyer fights to get you the best deal possible before you sign away your rights.

Other Common Provisions

Here are some other standard sections often seen in federal plea agreements:

Cooperation Deal – If you agree to cooperate against other defendants and testify for the government, there will be provisions detailing your cooperation responsibilities. This can lead to a big sentence reduction if you provide “substantial assistance.”

Forfeiture – If you made money from your crimes, you’ll likely have to forfeit assets and agree to pay restitution to any victims.

Appellate Waiver – This waives your right to appeal your sentence if the judge imposes a sentence within the agreed guidelines range.

Merger – If you plead to multiple counts, this section says the sentences for each count will run concurrently (at the same time), not consecutively.

Breach Provisions – Language saying the deal is off if you violate any of its terms before sentencing. Watch out for this – they’ll throw the book at you if you “breach” the agreement!

How Judges Are Involved

Federal judges take plea agreements very seriously, since they set the stage for sentencing. Judges have to approve every plea deal under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

This means the judge will question you extensively during the plea hearing to make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to. The judge will also review the guidelines calculations to make sure they’re accurate.

Judges can reject plea deals if they feel the sentence recommendation is too lenient. But that’s rare – most federal judges accept plea bargains.

Still, the judge has the final say on what sentence you actually get. The plea deal just gets you a lower starting point. So nothing is certain until the gavel comes down at sentencing.

Takeaways

The bottom line is federal plea bargains are complex. To get the best deal, you need an experienced federal criminal defense lawyer fighting for you every step of the way.

Smart negotiating can lower your guidelines range, reduce charges, and get prosecution concessions that cut years off your sentence. But you have to weigh the risks carefully before admitting guilt and losing your trial rights.

With so much on the line, don’t go it alone against the power of the federal government. Get skilled legal help to get the lowest sentence possible through a plea agreement. The alternative – losing at trial – is too frightening to even imagine.

Hopefully this overview helps you understand the plea bargaining process in federal criminal cases. Let me know if you have any other questions! I’m happy to help make sense of this confusing stuff.