You shouldn’t plead guilty if there is a chance that you could succeed at trial. Pleading “not guilty” is the only option that makes it possible to keep your record clean. A criminal record lasts a lifetime and makes it harder to secure employment, travel freely, rent apartments, or maintain custody of your children. If you really want to leave this behind you, it’s worth it to fight for a complete acquittal of your charges.
Once you plead guilty, you waive your constitutional rights and the prosecutor no longer has to prove you committed the crime. So if there’s a chance you could succeed at trial, it’s worth making them do their jobs and prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
How do you know if you could succeed at trial? Your attorney can advise you about what your chances are after reviewing the evidence of your case.
What about a plea deal? The prosecutor may also offer you a plea deal (a lower sentence in exchange for a guilty plea), but it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of this decision with your attorney. Prosecutors offer plea bargains because securing a fast conviction makes their job easier. It’s in their best interest to avoid the effort of going to trial, but that doesn’t mean it’s in yours. Most defense lawyer aren’t willing to take cases all the way to trial and fight about every detail in court, but if you hire ones who will, you increase your chances of walking away from this with a clean record (which is the only way to truly walk away from this).
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