Can I make a plea bargain?
Making a plea bargain means that you agree to to a specific or charges in return for a better outcome. For example, if you have more than one criminal charge, the Crown may agree to withdraw some charges if you plead guilty to others. Or you may agree to plead guilty to a lesser charge that isn't as serious as the crime you're charged with.
When you , the Crown must prove you're guilty of the crime . A shows you're willing to resolve your charges. It also saves the court time and money by not going to . You can use this to negotiate a better way of resolving your case.
If you have outstanding charges in different places, you can ask the Crown to transfer your charges to one place. That way you can have a where several sets of charges in different places can be resolved at the same time.
Open and joint positions
When you plead guilty, you and the Crown will recommend a to the judge. Talk to the Crown about the sentence they plan to recommend.
If you and the Crown don't agree on a sentence, you're in an open position. This means each of you can tell the judge why the sentence you're recommending is appropriate. The judge decides your sentence based on what they think is appropriate and reasonable.
If you and the Crown agree on a sentence, you're in a . The judge usually accepts a sentence agreed to in a joint position. But the judge can reject the sentence if they think it's not reasonable.
