A large number of criminal cases typically end with a guilty plea rather than a trial. That said, it is important that both you and your Sugar Land criminal lawyer (preferably early in the information gathering process) start to look for chances to get rid of the charge or charges prior to a trial.
Criminal plea agreements and bargains generally fall into two categories: charge bargains and sentence bargains. Charge bargains are agreements to plead to a particular charge (or charges) in return for a promise that other charges will be dropped or not brought in. Sentence bargains are bargains that involved the negotiation of the sentence to be enforced.
More specifically, charge bargains are ones in which the prosecutor consents to dismissing or foregoing particular charges in exchange for a guilty plea to other charges. However, if the sentences of multiple charges are combined for the purposes of sentencing, this bargain may be of little to no benefit to you. Nonetheless, if the other charges have more substantial penalties or they call for mandatory minimum or consecutive sentences, a charge bargain could prove to be a great deal.
The key here is that you want to steer clear of collateral consequences. Therefore, if each of the numerous charges that you are facing carries the same sentence, you would want to bargain for the one with the least future or collateral consequences. By and large, you and your Sugar Land criminal lawyer should attempt to circumvent convictions for crimes of violence or drug or sex offenses because these types of crimes tend to prompt certain things, such as undesirable immigration consequences, disqualifications for benefits and sex offender registration.
Furthermore, you should also try to reduce the counts of a conviction. Numerous convictions, even those in a consolidated case or indictment, may count more when determining the sentencing on future cases. Moreover, having simultaneous multiple probation sentences or even supervised release may come back to haunt you in the long run. If you need the skills of a well-versed Sugar Land criminal lawyer, please call John Venza at 281-971-5660 for a free initial consultation.