plea bargain
noun- Synonyms
- plea agreement, plea deal
- Related terms
- plea-bargain
plea-bargain
verbalso spelled plea-bargain1
Law US To make an agreement in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge instead of not guilty to a greater one.
- […] former District Attorney, Butters said "[…] I think the fact that so many plead guilty proves that these cases should have been prosecuted." One of those who plea-bargained disagrees. Ed Mede last week pleaded guilty to one count of sex with a minor under 16. "This does not prove my gilt ^([sic])," he insists. "It proves the injustice of the whole system. I could not go on paying for my attorney through a long trial. […] I did not want to face life in prison because of the whim of a biased judge or juror."1979 April 28, Tom Reeves, “Revere Sex Cases Resolved”, in Gay Community News, page 1: