Is pleading guilty to a lesser offense a right of the defendant, or is it entirely up to the DA?

When I was charged with a misdemeanor but took a plea to a violation, I remember my atty telling me the DA would not agree to dismiss the charge but would agree to a plea to a violation

At the time I had no prior involvement with the forensic system

Did my ability to plea mean that the evidence was too strong to dismiss the charge but too weak to not offer me a plea deal? Or did they allow it because of my clean record?

You can plead guilty to the charge... OR you can "make a deal" with the prosecutor to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

You are complicating the issue. I hope that you got "the deal" in writing. Refer to the deal that you signed off on for the details.

Is your attorney not clarifying these details for you?

This case is long over 15 years ago. I was arrested on a misd charge but pled guilty to a lesser charge, a violation

Whether to offer a plea deal is entirely up to the prosecutor. A plea is not always offered because of a lack of evidence. More often its to avoid the cost of a trial.

You can plead guilty to the charge... OR you can "make a deal" with the prosecutor to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

RIck J--this is what you said yesterday.

In my case, I was charged with the misd. At arraignment, my atty told me the DA will not dismiss but they will let me plead to a violation

So even if I didn't talk to the DA personally, this was still basically a deal with the DA to plead to the lesser charge?

On my court dispo it lists the arraignment charge as the misd, but the disposition section indicates PG 240.20 (pled guilty to disorderly conduct which was the violation)

I was convicted of a less serious charge than what I was originally charged with

Yes, the DA doesn't have to offer the deal to you directly.

When someone does a background check like an employer or a licensing agency, and they see the original charge was more serious than the final conviction charge, would they consider the original charge in making a hiring/licensing decision or the final conviction charge? Especially in states where they are allowed to consider arrests in making hiring/licensing decisions

They are unlikely to see the original charge on a normal check. But if they are aware of the arrest, they are very likely to consider it.

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Originally Posted by rlrl2010

is pleading guilty to a lesser offense a right of the defendant, or is it entirely up to the DA?
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No, you don't have any right to make a plea bargain.

Think about it.

If you were charged with multiple capital murder with agrivating circumstances, do you really suppose you could simply plead guilty to a parking ticket and avoid the more serious charge?

:rolleyes:

The DA never has to offer a deal and it is completely up to the DA, the defendant can make a offer but the DA can say no,

And it often does not depend on anything, in some cases, they will charge you with a higher charge assuming they can make a deal ( common in some felonies) In many courts about 60 to 70 percent of all cases are settled in deals, the DA does not have the budget and the court does not have enough judges or time to actually try every case.

Often evidence has little to do with it, esp on minor cases but can on major cases. A persons prior crimes has some to do with it sometimes,

There is no ONE reason, just a lot of sometimes, maybes and so on. I have seen four time convicted drug dealers get a plea agreement, for some reason, who knows

A friend of mine was charged for assaulting a police officer and could have served up yo 7 yrs in jail if convicted of the felony

However the police supposedly knocked off her glasses or did something to her (not sure what exactly) and her dad was a popular atty who handled medical cases he may have had some kind of influence (I know I know it's not supposed to happen) but she ended getting a plea deal to a violation, disorderly conduct and only paid a $150 fine. Her case is now sealed. Same non criminal disposition as mine (tho I did not assault a police officer I know better than that)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rlrl2010

a friend of mine was charged for assaulting a police officer and could have served up yo 7 yrs in jail if convicted of the felony

however the police supposedly knocked off her glasses or did something to her (not sure what exactly) and her dad was a popular atty who handled medical cases he may have had some kind of influence (I know I know it's not supposed to happen) but she ended getting a plea deal to a violation, disorderly conduct and only paid a $150 fine. her case is now sealed. same non criminal disposition as mine (tho i did not assault a police officer i know better than that)

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So? And this matters because? Your question has been answered. You've been told that it is up to the DA to offer a plea deal and given a list of why this is done.