Should I Plea Bargain For A Florida Drug Offense?

A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case where a defendant and a state’s attorney work out an accord to save both the state and the defendant the stress and expense of a trial. If you have been charged with a drug offense, you may wonder if a plea bargain is a good option for you. The answer is that it depends on the specifics of your situation.

What Is A Plea Bargain?

There are two halves to a successful plea bargain: charge bargaining and sentence bargaining. Charge bargaining is what most people think of when they think of plea bargaining – in exchange for dropping a more serious charge, the defendant will agree to plead to a lesser offense. Sentence bargaining is when a defendant pleads to the charge, but in exchange, will receive a sentence on the lighter end of the spectrum.

When sentencing a defendant, Florida judges are generally required to abide by the state’s sentencing guidelines. These guidelines leverage several different factors, including the nature of the offense, and the defendant’s past record, and ultimately, they recommend an appropriate sentence within the range listed in the law. A plea bargain will often be one factor among many in pushing that scale toward the lighter side.

Positives & Negatives

In determining whether or not to push for a plea bargain in your own case, it is important for you to know the potential advantages and drawbacks. While a plea bargain can be a net win for a state’s attorney in keeping their docket clearer, it can also benefit a defendant in several ways. One is that in some cases, certainty matters. The stress of a trial can place real strain on a person and their family, and it can be better in certain instances to simply reach an agreement.

That said, one major drawback in seeking a plea bargain is that many defendants feel coerced into accepting one, particularly if they lack sufficient legal representation that can help them properly discern whether an offer is appropriate or not. A state’s attorney may seem to have all the power; without the right legal help, a defendant may genuinely want to avoid a trial, but feel forced into accepting an offer they do not want. This is often the case in drug trials, as Florida law takes these offenses extremely seriously.

Contact A West Palm Beach Drug Offenses Attorney

If you have been charged with drug offenses in Florida, a plea bargain may be the best option for you and your family, but it may not. Contacting a West Palm Beach drug crimes attorney from Perlet & Shiner, P.A. can help to get any questions answered, and to clarify your options moving forward. Call our office today to speak to an attorney.

Source:

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