Over 90 percent of federal defendants plead guilty in exchange for the prosecution dropping some of the charges or recommending a more lenient sentence.  

The plea agreement is a written contract  between you and the prosecution.  It does not bind the judge.  It is prepared by the prosecutor and outlines facts describing what you admit you did as well as any charges the prosecutor dropped.

The court will take your plea agreement into account in determining your sentence but may decide to impose a higher sentence.  You cannot withdraw your guilty plea just because the judge has imposed a sentence higher than your plea agreement unless one of its terms allows withdrawal of your guilty plea.

Your defense attorney is ethically required to inform you of every plea offer made by the government.  You can expect your attorney to describe the terms of the plea agreement and discuss your sentencing exposure if you proceed to trial given the good and bad evidence in your case.  You should only plead guilty if the plea agreement is in your best interest and that decision is yours alone.

The decision to go to trial is yours, but only a small percentage of federal defendants decide to go to trial.

A federal defendant with a court-appointed attorney typically has a trial which lasts three days to a week.  Some trials last longer.

If you decide to accept the plea agreement, your defense attorney will advise the prosecutor of your decision.  You will sign a document prepared by the prosecutor outlining facts describing what you admit you did as well as any charges the prosecutor dropped.

At this hearing the judge will conduct what is known as the “plea colloquy.”   The judge will inform you of the rights you gave up by pleading guilty and the crimes you are admitting that you committed.  The judge will question you under oath about your involvement in the crime.  If the judge determines from your answers that you are not guilty, the judge will not accept your plea.  The case will then proceed to trial.  Usually the judge accepts your plea and sets a date for sentencing generally twelve weeks after the plea hearing.  The judge will ask the Probation Office to prepare a presentence report.  (See the Sentencing Section for more information on the presentence report).

It is your right to testify or not testify.  If you choose not to testify, it cannot be held against you by the jury. The judge will tell the jury about that rule.  You have a right to "confront” or cross-examine government witnesses and can use the subpoena power of the court to secure evidence or witnesses for your trial.

You have no burden.  It is the prosecutor’s burden to prove every element of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt.  You will only be found guilty of a charge if a jury of 12 people unanimously find you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of every element of the crime.