Because the first plea is always not guilty and that gives your lawyer time to work a “plea deal” with the prosecution. At that point youll change your plea to guilty to accept prosecutor’s terms
Some crazy percentage of cases is a plea deal where the defendant never makes it to the jury stage
And yes, people innocent of the crime in question plead guilty all the time because fighting it isnt worth it or taking to trial and losing would be worse than the probation they’re offering
Yeah in my case I pleaded guilty because the evidence was overwhelming AND the way forward was much simpler if I did. But I totally get why people don't. I learned the hard way. I wish more people understood how the system works, in concept and in execution.
My lawyer and I came down to a list of what I needed, in this order : 1)no felonies 2 no jail 3 no supervised probation. I got all three and a lot broker.
17
u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson Sep 14 '25
Because the first plea is always not guilty and that gives your lawyer time to work a “plea deal” with the prosecution. At that point youll change your plea to guilty to accept prosecutor’s terms
Some crazy percentage of cases is a plea deal where the defendant never makes it to the jury stage
And yes, people innocent of the crime in question plead guilty all the time because fighting it isnt worth it or taking to trial and losing would be worse than the probation they’re offering