Experts point out some other benefits of pleas. Law professor Bruce Green tells FRONTLINE, "It… is in some ways fairer to witnesses and prospective jurors. Imagine if in all these cases, the victims and witnesses had to come to court to testify. And in all these cases, people had to leave their jobs in order to serve on juries. That would be very onerous for the public." Other experts note that pleas can get the accused out from under some harsh mandatory minimum sentences and rigid federal sentencing guidelines. And law professor Jonathan Oberman points out in his FRONTLINE interview, "… [a plea bargain] certainly is a good thing for someone who is guilty, someone who has factually done that which he or she is charged with doing, who is confronted with overwhelming evidence, and where the state is inclined to make some kind of offer because they would not want to put the victim, or families of the victim, or put the state, to the cost of proving the case at trial."

And, from the state's point of view, the main benefit of the plea bargain is that it saves time and money. Almost everyone acknowledges that the system would collapse if every case that was filed were to be set for trial; there is not enough money to try every case.

Pleading guilty instead of going to trial reduces uncertainty as to the outcome of a trial; in trying a case before a judge or before a jury of 12 people, the defendant cannot predict what ultimately will happen.

Explore the American Bar Association Standards on "Pleas of Guilty" . These standards are meant to serve as a guide for policymakers and those working in the criminal justice system. The pleas section includes information on the roles and obligations of the prosecuting attorney, defense counsel and the judge in the plea process.

It is an agreement between the prosecutor and the accused in which the accused pleads guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence or a reduced charge. About 95 percent of all felony convictions in the United States are the result of plea bargains.