What is plea bargaining? Why is it necessary?
There are not enough judges, clerks, or courtrooms to conduct a jury trial for the thousands of cases prosecuted each year in Mecklenburg County. These practical demands plus the seriousness of the cases, the strengths or weaknesses of the cases, the victim’s wishes, public safety, punishment, rehabilitation, deterrence and NC sentencing laws are all things that are considered by a prosecutor when deciding how to proceed. A plea agreement is always designed to balance these competing interests. Consider that under the current circumstances, if all plea bargaining stopped today on all felonies or misdemeanor appeals (matters where a jury trial, not a bench trial, is required), and absolutely no new arrests were made by the police from today forward, it would take approximately 40 years for every case to be tried.
