Call for Consultation (337) 366-8994
Call for Consultation (337) 366-8994
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace legal advice. The law and the way things work change all the time, and every situation is different. Before you make any judgments on plea deals or criminal cases, go to a Louisiana criminal defense attorney who can help you with your case.
In the Louisiana criminal justice system, a plea bargain is one of the most important choices a defendant will have to make.
In this deal between the prosecutor and the defense, the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to criminal charges in exchange for the state giving up some of its rights, like lowering the charges, giving the defendant a shorter sentence, or dropping some of the counts.
The overwhelming majority of criminal cases in Louisiana, as in courts nationwide, are resolved through plea bargains rather than trials, with studies showing 90-95% of convictions result from guilty pleas. The choice to accept or reject a plea deal can mean the difference between months or years in prison, being able to keep a job, and having a felony or misdemeanor on your permanent record for defendants and their family.
In Louisiana, a plea bargain is an agreement between the prosecution and the defendant (through their lawyer) in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to certain charges in exchange for the State giving up some of its rights.
Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 556 and 556.1 require that guilty pleas must be made freely, with full knowledge of the charges and their consequences, and with full knowledge of the rights being given up by the defendant.
These statutes mandate that defendants must know what the charges are, what the possible punishments are, and what constitutional rights they give up by pleading guilty.
People must know, understand, and agree to a plea deal before they may sign it. The constitutional rights waived by a guilty plea include the (1) right to a jury trial, (2) the right to confront witnesses, and the (3) right not to testify against themselves.
In State v. Crosby, 338 So. 2d 584 (La. 1976), the Louisiana Supreme Court further reinforced these principles and established that defendants may even enter conditional guilty pleas while reserving the right to appeal specific pre-plea rulings (motions to suppress, quash, etc.).
Understand, however, that the State may not make a desirable plea offer if the defendant plans to appeal an issue in the case. Most prosecutors want to fully resolve the case with a plea, not to have to continue to deal with the case on appeal for years. If they do allow for a Crosby plea, the terms of the plea may not be as beneficial to the defendant.
Going to trial is very different than making a deal to plead guilty. The State has to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial, the defendant is still presumed innocent, and the jury or judge has to make a decision before the trial is over.
In a plea bargain, the defendant agrees to take responsibility for the crime in exchange for specific benefits. This removes the uncertainty of a trial, but it also means that the defendant will be deemed “guilty.”
The most usual way to do this is to reduce the seriousness of the initial allegation. For instance, the prosecutor might agree to lower a charge of armed robbery (which has a mandated minimum term under Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:64) to simple robbery (R.S. 14:65), which gives the judge more options for sentencing.
Bargaining on the charge(s) are especially useful when the original charge has mandatory minimum penalties, makes it impossible to get probation, or has much worse collateral effects.
In sentence bargaining, the defendant admits guilt to the crime they are charged with, but the prosecution agrees to suggest a certain punishment to the court or not oppose the defense’s recommendations for sentencing.
The Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 881.2 says that the court can take part in sentence deliberations, but it is still the court’s job to decide the punishment.
For example, a defendant accused with possession with intent to distribute might agree to plead guilty in exchange for the State agreeing to suggest probation instead of jail time.
These deals lower both the charges and the sentences. The prosecutor can agree to lower a felony charge to a misdemeanor and set a maximum sentence length at the same time. Hybrid deals frequently give defendants the greatest overall benefit because they address both the criminal record and the sentence.
Either the prosecutor or the defense attorney may initiate plea discussions, though prosecutors typically control whether to extend formal offers.
Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 61 grants the district attorney broad discretionary authority to determine which charges to file and whether to negotiate plea agreements.
Defense attorneys advocate for their clients during negotiations, presenting mitigating factors, challenging evidence weaknesses, and proposing alternative resolutions.
The court plays a limited but essential role in the plea process. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 556 prohibits judges from participating in plea discussions between the state and defense except in limited circumstances involving sentence recommendations under Article 881.2.
The trial court must approve any plea agreement, and the judge conducts a formal plea colloquy to ensure the defendant understands the plea and enters it voluntarily.
But courts generally defer to prosecutorial discretion and approve negotiated pleas unless they appear contrary to public interest or involve improper inducements.
Initial Assessment: Defense counsel reviews discovery materials, investigates the case, identifies legal issues, and assesses trial risks. This evaluation forms the foundation for determining whether pursuing a plea bargain serves the client’s interests.
Opening Negotiations: The defense attorney contacts the prosecutor to discuss a potential resolution. The prosecutor may present an initial offer, or the defense may propose specific terms based on mitigating circumstances, evidentiary weaknesses, or the defendant’s background.
Negotiation and Revision: The parties exchange proposals and counterproposals. Defense counsel presents mitigating evidence, such as the defendant’s lack of criminal history, employment stability, family circumstances, or weaknesses in the state’s case.
Prosecutors consider factors including the victim’s position, community safety concerns, and office policies regarding specific offenses.
Formalization: Once parties reach an agreement, the prosecutor prepares written plea documents outlining the specific charges, agreed sentence recommendations, and any additional conditions.
Defense counsel reviews these documents with the defendant to ensure complete understanding before proceeding to court.
Court Appearance and Plea Colloquy: At the plea hearing, the judge conducts a formal colloquy pursuant to Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 556.1.
The court must determine that the plea is voluntary, that the defendant understands the nature of the charges, that factual basis exists for the plea, and that the defendant comprehends the rights being waived and the consequences of the conviction.
Sentencing: Depending on the agreement terms and local court practices, sentencing may occur immediately following the plea or at a separate hearing. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure
Article 874 requires that a sentence be imposed without unreasonable delay.
The judge considers the plea agreement recommendations but retains discretion to impose any lawful sentence within statutory limits, though courts typically honor negotiated agreements absent extraordinary circumstances.
Defendants have basic constitutional rights that they keep until they agree to a plea deal. The Sixth Amendment ensures the right to a jury trial, and no person can be forced to give up this privilege against their will.
Article I, Section 17 of the Louisiana Constitution says that “the right to trial by jury shall be secured to all and shall remain inviolate.”
The right to talk to a lawyer is always there during plea discussions. The Fourteenth Amendment makes the Sixth Amendment right to effective aid of counsel apply to the States.
This means that defendants must have good legal advice about plea deals. In Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 156 (2012), the United States Supreme Court said that defense lawyers must tell their clients about formal plea offers and give them advise on the pros and cons of taking those offers.
Defendants also have the right to turn down any plea bargain and go to trial, no matter how good the prosecution’s offer seems to be.
Defendants can back out of discussions and use their trial rights without any problems until a plea is properly submitted and approved by the court.
The main benefit is that you can get better results than if you were found guilty at trial. If there is no chance of you receiving a benefit, there’s no reason to plead to anything; take it to trial.
Charge reductions can represent the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor conviction.
This can have a big impact on job prospects, professional licensure, gun rights, and the right to vote.
Negotiating a sentence could lead to probation instead of jail time, a lesser jail term, or a chance to get out of jail early.
Plea deals take away the uncertainty that comes with jury trials. Instead than fearing long prison sentences if they are found guilty, defendants know what would happen to them.
The procedure also ends faster than preparing for and going to trial, which lowers the mental and financial stress of long court cases.
If a defendant cannot pay bail, they may be able to get out of jail right away and get credit for the time they have already spent in jail.
After a trial conviction, Louisiana law allows judges to impose any legal punishment within the range set by statute. During plea discussions, prosecutors often make better deals than defendants would get if they were found guilty at trial.
Also, some offenses have mandatory minimum sentences or sentencing enhancements that only apply if the person is found guilty. Plea agreements may help prevent these by lowering the charges.
If you accept a plea deal, you will be found guilty of a crime and it may stay on your record forever.
Convictions, on the other hand, have long-lasting effects on many areas of life, such as work, housing, professional license, student financial aid, immigration status, and more. Many applications and background checks require you to tell them about even misdemeanor offenses.
Articles 977 and 978 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure limit who can have their records expunged based on the type of conviction and any other crimes they may have committed after then.
Article 976 allows for speedy expungement of arrests that did not lead to a conviction, but it takes five years for most misdemeanors and ten years for qualified felonies to be purged, with many exclusions that last forever. Taking a plea deal for a crime that is not qualified for expungement means that you cannot get it expunged in the future.
When defendants plead guilty, they concede to being guilty and give up most of their rights to appeal. Article 881.2 titled “Review of sentence” governs appeals and states: “The defendant cannot appeal or seek review of a sentence imposed in conformity with a plea agreement which was set forth in the record at the time of the plea.
Defendants cannot subsequently contend that the evidence was inadequate or that the state did not establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, as these defenses are relinquished by the guilty plea itself.
Convictions have many collateral effects in addition to the primary criminal penalty. Non-citizens may be deported or barred from entering the country.
Someone who pleads may also lose their professional licenses, be unable to get public housing help, lose their ability to carry a gun, have to register as a sex offender for certain crimes, and ruin their reputation in the community.
Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 15, Chapter 5-D lists many legislative collateral implications. But there are many more consequences that come from federal law and private sector policy.
The strength and amount of the evidence against you are the main factors that determine whether accepting a plea deal is in your best interest.
Strong evidence from the prosecution, such as eyewitness accounts, physical evidence linking you to the crime, video surveillance, or voluntary admissions, makes it more likely that you will be found guilty at trial and makes good plea offers more appealing.
On the other hand, if the state’s case is based on witnesses whose reliability is in doubt, circumstantial evidence, possible Fourth Amendment abuses of search and seizure, or other deficiencies in the evidence, going to trial may be a better option than taking a plea deal.
Defense attorneys should carefully look over discovery documents, make the right pretrial motions to keep evidence that was obtained illegally out of court, and decide if there is reasonable doubt about each part of the charges.
Previous prior offenses have a big impact on both plea deals and possible sentencing. Under Revised Statutes 15:529.1, Louisiana uses habitual offender sentencing, which means that convicts with certain previous felony offenses get longer sentences.
A third felony conviction results in significantly enhanced sentences. In the most serious cases—when the third felony and both prior felonies are crimes of violence or sex offenses against minors—the defendant faces mandatory life imprisonment without parole.
This makes plea deals that lower charges or keep defendants from getting felony convictions very important for people with previous histories.
Prosecutors and judges often grant better plea deals to first-time offenders since they do not have a criminal record, which is seen as a major mitigating factor.
Compare the punishment in the plea deal very carefully to the term you could get if you are found guilty at trial.
Look at the statutory sentencing ranges for the crimes you are charged with, think about whether mandatory minimum sentences apply, and figure out how likely it is that you will get the maximum or minimum penalties based on the facts of your case.
Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 875 through 878 govern sentencing proceedings and require consideration of both aggravating and mitigating circumstances, as well as Article 894.1.
Aggravating elements, such as hurting the victim, using weapons, or committing crimes while on probation, may lead to harsher punishments.
On the other hand, mitigating factors, such as having no past record, family issues, work history, and taking responsibility, may lead to more lenient outcomes.
You need to think carefully about the unique circumstances of your situation that go beyond the legal ones. There are big differences in how a felony conviction affects your job prospects compared to a misdemeanor conviction.
Many firms will not hire people with felony records. In Louisiana, professional licensing boards set limits based on the types of convictions a person has. This could have an impact on employment in healthcare, education, law, and many other sectors.
Things to think about for family members include how jail time would affect dependents, how losing money will affect the stability of the household, and how it will affect family connections in the long term.
Non-citizens should pay special attention to the immigration repercussions of their crimes because federal immigration law requires removal for certain convictions, regardless of the length of the sentence.
Lawyers give an unbiased opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of a case, guess what will happen at trial based on their familiarity with local courts and prosecutors, find possible defenses or mitigating circumstances, and negotiate better terms than defendants could get on their own.
The most typical mistake is agreeing to a plea deal without fully comprehending what it means. This includes not realizing that there are other ramifications besides the immediate criminal penalty, like how it will affect your professional license, your immigration status, or your eligibility for future enhancements for other crimes.
Going forward without a good lawyer or without talking to one before agreeing to plea terms makes it much harder for defendants to make smart choices. Prosecutors work for the state, not the defendant, and plea deals may not be the best conditions that may be reached through negotiation or may not take into consideration proper legal defenses.
When people are under pressure, afraid of going to trial, or just want to get the charges over with fast, they often accept bad deals.
Prosecutors sometimes set deadlines for plea bargains to make people feel rushed, but defendants should take the time they need to talk to their lawyer, look into the case, and carefully consider their options instead of making quick decisions based on how they feel.
Another big mistake is not thinking about how things will affect civil rights in the long run. Louisiana Constitution Article I, Section 20 says that most people will automatically get their civil rights back after they finish their term.
But, some rights, like owning a gun under federal law, may stay limited forever depending on the sort of conviction. Knowing these long-term effects before agreeing to a plea deal stops things from happening years later that you didn’t foresee.
Under Louisiana law, some defendants can choose diversion programs instead of going through the normal prosecution process. These pretrial diversion programs are administered at the discretion of each District Attorney’s office, providing alternatives to formal prosecution for eligible defendants.
First-time and nonviolent offenders can complete rehabilitation programs, community service, or other requirements in exchange for having their charges dropped or dismissed without a conviction on their record.
Additionally, Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 894 and 895 allow post-conviction suspended sentences and deferred adjudication with conditions. Under these provisions, defendants who have been convicted can have their convictions set aside upon successful completion of probation.
Post-conviction remedies, including appeals and post-conviction relief applications, provide avenues to contest erroneous convictions or unlawful penalties, even following guilty pleas, under specific conditions.
The Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 911 through 923 govern appeals, while Articles 924 through 930.8 establish the framework for post-conviction relief.
However, the review process is far more limited for cases that were resolved with guilty pleas than for cases that went to trial.
The Ikerd Law Firm understands that decisions on plea deals can have a big impact on your future. We go into every case in great detail, find all possible defenses, and fight hard with prosecutors.
Do not try to handle plea discussions on your own without help from a lawyer. Call us at (337) 366-8994 about your case today.
