A plea agreement means that you are pleading guilty to certain charges or offenses, usually something less serious than what you are now charged with. Quite often, in exchange for pleading guilty to a particular charge, the county attorney will agree to drop more serious charges or not allege priors (prior felony convictions). A plea agreement, for example, may result in not having to face mandatory prison time. Rarely, though, will the prosecutor recommend or guarantee probation, although in a fair number of cases, they will agree to make probation "available" or possible.
If there is a possible plea agreement, the county attorney will prepare a written plea agreement that I will explain to you in person. If you decide to take the plea agreement, will schedule a change of plea hearing. At the hearing, the judge will ask you a series of questions about the plea agreement to make sure that you are knowingly and voluntarily entering into the agreement, and that you understand that, by pleading guilty, you are giving up your right to trial along with other important constitutional rights (e.g., right to call witnesses, cross-examine the state's witnesses, right to be silent, right to appeal, and so on.) For example, the judge will ask you about the factual basis for the plea. In other words, you will tell the judge what happened in your own words so the judge can decide whether what you did is in fact a crime. He will ask if you have taken any alcohol or drugs in the past twenty-four (24) hours, and so on.
The judge has the power to not accept a plea agreement if he or she believes that the plea agreement is too soft, too tough, or is otherwise inappropriate. This does not happen very often. You should assume that once you plead guilty, you cannot later withdraw or take back your plea unless the judge allows you to do so. As I mentioned before, in felony cases, your sentencing is generally thirty (30) days after the change of plea hearing. In misdemeanor cases, the sentencing is usually at the same time as the change of plea.
Contact Vladimir Gagic at his Phoenix office today.
