plea
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In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including nolo contendere (no contest), no case to answer (in the United Kingdom), or an Alford plea (in the United States).
~10 min read
Article
14 sectionsContents
- Types of plea
- Peremptory pleas
- Standing mute
- Common law
- US criminal procedure
- United States
- "Voluntary and intelligent"
- Special pleas
- United Kingdom
- "Unambiguous plea"
- Special pleas
- Plea in mitigation
- See also
- References
In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including nolo contendere (no contest), no case to answer (in the United Kingdom), or an Alford plea (in the United States).
Under common law systems, a defendant who pleads guilty will be convicted if the court accepts the plea. The court will then determine and impose a sentence. Plea bargaining involves discussions between the prosecutor and defendants to reach an agreement for a guilty plea in exchange for a more lenient punishment.