A plea deal can be a perfect solution for a person who is facing a significantly uphill battle to win their criminal case, but it’s not without its downsides. A favorable plea deal can help you avoid jail time or a specific type of conviction on your record, but you are forfeiting some rights along the way when you agree to a plea deal. In today’s blog, we explore some of the rights you’re conceding if you opt to agree to a plea deal.
Plea Deal Concessions
For the sake of being fully informed ahead of a decision, we want to highlight some of the rights you’ll be forfeiting if you agree to a plea deal instead of taking your case to trial. Some rights you’ll waive when you agree to a plea deal include:
Right To A Trial By Jury – If you are arrested and charged with a crime, you have the right to a trial by a jury of your peers. Of course, if you are agreeing to plead guilty to the charge or a lesser charge, you’re not going to be taking your defense in front of a jury, so this right will be forfeited.
Right To Avoid Self-Incrimination – During court, you have the right to “plead the fifth,” which means that you can decide not to provide testimony that could serve to incriminate yourself in the matter. This decision to avoid self-incrimination is not to be used as evidence towards an individual’s guilt. You are essentially waiving your right to avoid self-incrimination when you agree to a deal that sees you acknowledge and admit your guilt.
Right To Confront Witnesses – After an arrest, you have the right to confront your accusers or witnesses in the court of law. You will not be able to contest witness or victim testimony unless you take your case to trial, meaning you’ll lose this right if you accept a plea deal.
Right To Being Proven Guilty Beyond A Reasonable Doubt – Finally, in order to be found guilty of the charges levied against you, the state must prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. You are waiving this “beyond a reasonable doubt” threshold if you decide to accept a plea deal.
It should be worth noting that your decision to agree to a plea deal does not mean that you waive your right to an appeal. When speaking in terms of a plea deal, you’re not really filing an appeal but rather seeking to withdraw your plea deal. You can seek a plea withdrawal at any point in your case, including after accepting your plea deal. A plea deal can be withdrawn before it is officially agreed to and even after it has been agreed to, but in order for it to be withdrawn after the fact, the defense must prove that the withdrawal is necessary to correct a “manifest injustice.” This essentially means that there was a newly discovered issue with your case that needs to be addressed.
Some examples that could lead to a plea withdrawal through a petition to correct manifest injustice include:
- Discovery of new evidence
- Ineffective legal counsel
- No evidence that the plea is truthful
- It turns out that evidence was obtained illegally
- Incorrectly informed about what you were signing
So while you will be waiving some rights in a plea deal, know that you can still work to withdraw the plea down the road if new evidence or a similar issue comes to light.
For more information about plea deals and making the right decision for your case, reach out to Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277.
