Marcus sat across from us, confused and frustrated. “I thought we were going to trial. You said my case was weak. Why are we talking about a plea deal?”
We’d spent two months building his defense for a felony drug possession charge. We’d found significant problems with the traffic stop. The search was questionable. The officer’s testimony had inconsistencies. We were ready to fight.
But the prosecutor just offered deferred adjudication with minimal probation conditions. No jail time. No final conviction if Marcus completed probation successfully. The case would be dismissed.
Marcus wanted his day in court. He wanted to prove his innocence. He wanted the jury to hear about the illegal search and the officer’s mistakes.
We understood that feeling. We’ve felt it ourselves. But we also knew the truth: this offer was better than the risk of trial, and turning it down would be a mistake.
Here’s what most people don’t understand about criminal cases: approximately 90-95% never go to trial. They resolve through dismissals, plea agreements, or pre-trial diversions.
That’s not because defendants are giving up. It’s not because defense attorneys are lazy. It’s because the system is designed this way, and experienced attorneys know how to work within it to get results.
Let us explain why most cases settle, when settlement makes sense, and when trial is the right call.
The Math Behind Criminal Trials
Let’s start with the reality of the court system.
In Collin County and Dallas County, prosecutors handle hundreds of cases simultaneously. Public defenders and court-appointed attorneys often carry 100+ active cases. Even well-resourced defense attorneys might have 30-50 cases at various stages.
The courts themselves have limited trial capacity. Each courtroom can only handle a certain number of trials per month. If every case went to trial, the system would collapse immediately.
Here’s the actual math:
A typical felony trial takes 2-5 days from jury selection through verdict. A misdemeanor trial takes 1-2 days. Each courtroom might have space for 5-10 trials per month, depending on complexity.
If every felony case in a single court went to trial, you’d need years to work through the backlog. The system simply cannot function that way.
So the system creates incentives for resolution: plea offers, charge reductions, deferred adjudication, pretrial diversion programs. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys are motivated to resolve cases efficiently when it makes sense for everyone involved.
This isn’t a flaw. It’s how the system manages volume while still protecting constitutional rights and achieving reasonable outcomes.
Why Prosecutors Offer Plea Deals
As former prosecutors, we made hundreds of plea offers. Here’s why:
Resource Management: Trial preparation is time-consuming and expensive. Witnesses must be subpoenaed and prepared. Evidence must be organized and authenticated. Prosecutors must be ready to handle objections, motions, and complex legal issues. When you’re handling 100 active cases, you can’t try them all.
Risk Assessment: No case is perfect. Witnesses forget details. Physical evidence has gaps. Juries are unpredictable. Even strong cases can lose at trial. Prosecutors evaluate: What are the chances of conviction? What sentence would the jury impose? Is that outcome significantly better than what we can negotiate?
Victim Considerations: Many victims don’t want to testify. Reliving trauma in open court is difficult. Cross-examination is stressful. Some victims prefer resolution without trial, especially if the plea agreement achieves accountability.
Witness Problems: Witnesses move, become uncooperative, or develop credibility issues. Police officers retire or transfer. The longer a case takes, the weaker witness testimony becomes. Prosecutors know this and often prefer resolving cases before witnesses disappear.
Case Weaknesses: Smart prosecutors recognize when their cases have problems. Maybe the stop was questionable. Maybe the search was borderline illegal. Maybe the alleged victim’s story has inconsistencies. Rather than risk losing at trial, prosecutors offer reasonable deals.
System Pressure: Prosecutors face pressure to clear their dockets, resolve cases efficiently, and avoid trial backlogs. This creates incentive to make offers that defense attorneys can accept.
Why Defense Attorneys Recommend Plea Deals
We don’t recommend plea deals because we’re afraid of trial or because we’re trying to take the easy way out. We’ve each tried over 100 jury trials. We’re not afraid of courtrooms.
We recommend settlements when they’re better than the realistic alternative. Here’s our analysis:
Strength of the Evidence: If the state has strong evidence—clear video, reliable witnesses, solid forensics, admissible statements—conviction at trial is likely. In those cases, negotiating the best possible deal often beats risking the maximum sentence after conviction.
Sentencing Reality: Juries often impose harsher sentences than negotiated agreements. If we can negotiate probation and the likely jury sentence is prison time, settlement makes sense. If we can get deferred adjudication (no final conviction) versus risking a permanent felony record, that’s a win.
Certainty vs. Risk: Trial outcomes are uncertain. Even weak cases can result in convictions if one or two jurors are prosecution-friendly. Even strong defenses can fail if the jury doesn’t connect with your story. Settlement provides certainty. You know exactly what the outcome will be.
Collateral Consequences: For some clients, any conviction has devastating consequences. Immigration status. Professional licenses. Security clearances. Military service. In those cases, getting charges reduced or dismissed through negotiation is far better than risking conviction at trial.
Time and Stress: Trials are stressful. Preparation is intensive. The outcome is uncertain, and the wait is agonizing. Some clients prefer resolution and closure, even if it means accepting some consequence, rather than living with uncertainty for months.
Cost-Benefit Analysis: We’re blunt with clients: Is the difference between the plea offer and the likely trial outcome worth the risk? If the offer is probation and the trial risk is prison time, that’s an easy analysis. If the offer is 5 years and the trial risk is 7 years, the calculation is different.
When Settlement Makes Sense
Here are situations where we typically recommend accepting plea agreements:
Strong Evidence Against You: The state has video evidence clearly showing the offense. Multiple credible witnesses saw what happened. Your statement to police is damning. Physical evidence ties you to the crime. Forensic results are conclusive.
In these situations, trial is unlikely to succeed. Negotiating the lowest possible sentence and best possible terms makes more sense than risking the maximum after conviction.
Excellent Plea Offer: The prosecutor offers deferred adjudication with light probation conditions. Or charge reduction from felony to misdemeanor. Or minimal jail time when the charged offense carries years in prison. Or dismissal in exchange for completing a program.
When the offer is substantially better than the likely trial outcome, accepting it is usually smart.
Collateral Consequences Make Conviction Catastrophic: You’re facing deportation if convicted. You’ll lose your medical license, teaching credential, or law license. You’ll be discharged from the military. You’ll lose custody of your children.
In these cases, even accepting a less favorable plea to avoid those consequences might make sense.
Victim Considerations: The alleged victim is a family member who doesn’t want to testify. Or a domestic violence case where reconciliation is possible if the case resolves quickly. Sometimes resolving the case benefits everyone involved, including the victim.
Time Served Plus Probation: You’ve already spent months in jail awaiting trial because you couldn’t post bail. The plea offer is time served plus probation. You can walk out of court today and start rebuilding your life. That’s often preferable to waiting months more for trial.
When Trial Makes Sense
We also know when to fight. Here are situations where we recommend going to trial:
Weak Evidence: The state’s case has significant holes. Witnesses are unreliable or have credibility problems. Physical evidence is circumstantial or ambiguous. The prosecutor is overcharging based on weak facts.
Constitutional Violations: Your rights were violated during the stop, search, arrest, or interrogation. Evidence was obtained illegally. We’ve filed motions to suppress, and if granted, the state’s case collapses. Judges need to hear these arguments, and sometimes trial is the venue.
Self-Defense or Justification: You acted in legitimate self-defense or defense of others. The law allows what you did under the circumstances. This is a complete defense, and juries understand it.
Actual Innocence: You didn’t do it. Period. Mistaken identity. False accusation. Alibi evidence proves you weren’t there. In these cases, we fight because you deserve exoneration, not just a “good deal.”
Unreasonable Plea Offer: The prosecutor’s offer is barely better than the trial risk, or sometimes even worse. If they’re offering 10 years and the maximum is 20, but we believe the evidence is weak, trial makes sense.
Immigration or Licensing Consequences: Sometimes any conviction—even a misdemeanor—triggers deportation or professional license loss. In those situations, trial is the only option because you have nothing to lose.
The Offer Requires Admitting to Something You Didn’t Do: We never push clients to plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit. If you’re innocent and can’t accept responsibility for something you didn’t do, we go to trial.
The Negotiation Process: What Actually Happens
Plea negotiations aren’t just defense attorneys begging for mercy. They’re strategic discussions between professionals who understand the case.
Discovery Review: We start by thoroughly reviewing all evidence. Police reports, videos, lab results, witness statements, dispatch recordings. We identify every weakness, inconsistency, and problem in the state’s case.
Legal Research: We research applicable case law. Are there recent appellate decisions that help us? Are there legal arguments that could get evidence suppressed? We build a legal foundation for our negotiating position.
Motion Practice: We file motions to suppress evidence, dismiss charges, or compel discovery. These motions force prosecutors to defend their case and reveal weaknesses. Sometimes motions succeed and the case gets dismissed. Sometimes they fail but give us leverage in negotiations.
Initial Discussion: We approach the prosecutor with our analysis: “Here’s why your case has problems. Here’s what we’re prepared to argue at trial. Here’s what we think is a fair resolution.”
Back and Forth: Negotiations rarely resolve immediately. The prosecutor might counter our position. We respond with additional arguments or evidence. This process can take days, weeks, or months depending on case complexity.
Reality Check with Client: Throughout negotiations, we keep you informed. We explain what the prosecutor is offering, what we think is realistic, and what the trial risks are. You make the final decision.
Final Agreement: If we reach agreement, we draft plea paperwork clearly stating the terms: charge, sentence, probation conditions, and any agreed recommendations to the judge.
What “Taking a Plea” Actually Means
Let’s clarify the different types of plea agreements because they’re not all the same:
Deferred Adjudication: You plead guilty or no contest, but the judge doesn’t enter a final conviction. You’re placed on community supervision (probation). If you complete probation successfully, the case is dismissed. You have no final conviction. This is often the best possible outcome short of outright dismissal.
Pretrial Diversion: You complete certain requirements (classes, community service, restitution) before pleading. If you complete the program successfully, charges are dismissed. No guilty plea. No conviction. This is ideal for first-time offenders.
Straight Probation: You plead guilty, the judge enters a conviction, but sentences you to probation instead of jail or prison. This is a final conviction on your record, but you avoid incarceration.
Agreed Sentence: You plead guilty in exchange for a specific sentence, often at the lower end of the punishment range. The judge typically follows the agreement.
Charge Reduction: The prosecutor agrees to reduce charges from a more serious offense to a lesser one. For example, felony to misdemeanor, or second-degree felony to third-degree felony. This reduces both the punishment range and the long-term consequences.
Time Served: You plead guilty and the sentence is the time you’ve already served in jail awaiting trial. You walk out of court that day. Common when you’ve been in custody for months and the likely sentence wouldn’t be much longer.
What Happens at the Plea Hearing
If you accept a plea agreement, here’s what happens in court:
Admonishments: The judge explains your rights: right to trial by jury, right to confront witnesses, right to remain silent, presumption of innocence. You’re waiving these rights by pleading guilty or no contest.
Voluntariness: The judge ensures you’re entering the plea voluntarily, without coercion, and that you understand the consequences.
Factual Basis: The prosecutor states the facts of the case. You (or we, on your behalf) acknowledge those facts or agree that the state could prove them beyond a reasonable doubt.
Plea: You formally enter your plea: guilty or no contest (nolo contendere). A no contest plea has the same effect as a guilty plea but cannot be used against you in civil court.
Sentencing: If it’s a straight plea with an agreed sentence, the judge imposes that sentence. If it’s deferred adjudication, the judge places you on probation with specific conditions.
Conditions of Probation: The judge explains probation conditions: reporting to a probation officer, paying fines and costs, completing classes or community service, avoiding new arrests, and any special conditions specific to your case.
You’re then released (if not in custody) or transferred to begin serving your sentence (if incarcerated).
The Advantage of Experienced Negotiators
This is where our background as prosecutors matters enormously.
We know how prosecutors evaluate cases because we used to evaluate them. We know which arguments resonate and which ones fall flat. We know when a prosecutor is bluffing about trial readiness and when they’re genuinely confident.
We have relationships with most prosecutors and judges in Collin and Dallas counties. Not friendships that compromise our advocacy, but professional relationships built on credibility and trust. When we make a representation about facts or law, they believe us. When we say we’re ready for trial, they know we mean it.
That credibility translates to better offers for our clients. Prosecutors know we’re not making empty threats. They know we’ve actually tried hundreds of cases and will go to trial if the offer isn’t reasonable.
We also know when prosecutors are offering their best deal and when there’s room to negotiate. After nearly 20 years each, we can read the situation and know when to push and when to accept.
Common Mistakes Defendants Make
We see defendants make these mistakes repeatedly:
Rejecting Good Offers Out of Principle: “I’m not pleading guilty to something I didn’t do!” We understand that sentiment. But if the evidence is strong and the jury is likely to convict, rejecting deferred adjudication (no final conviction) to go to trial and risk a permanent felony record is usually a mistake.
Overestimating Their Trial Chances: Clients sometimes believe they’ll win at trial because they know they’re innocent or because they think the jury will see things their way. But innocence doesn’t guarantee acquittal, and juries are unpredictable.
Underestimating Trial Penalties: Juries often impose harsher sentences than prosecutors offer in plea deals. The “trial penalty” is real. Defendants who reject reasonable offers and lose at trial often face significantly worse outcomes.
Misunderstanding What “Winning” Means: Sometimes getting charges reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor is a win. Sometimes getting deferred adjudication instead of a conviction is a win. Winning doesn’t always mean complete dismissal or acquittal.
Waiting Too Long to Decide: Plea offers sometimes have expiration dates. The longer you wait, the more the prosecutor invests in trial preparation, and the less willing they become to offer favorable terms.
Not Listening to Experienced Counsel: We give advice based on decades of experience and hundreds of cases. Clients who ignore that advice and insist on trial against our recommendation often regret it.
Why We’ll Tell You When to Fight
Here’s what separates us from attorneys who push every case toward settlement to avoid trial work:
We actually like trying cases. We’re good at it. We’ve each tried over 100 jury trials, and we’re not afraid of courtrooms.
When trial is the right call, we tell you. When the evidence is weak, when the state’s case has problems, when you’re actually innocent, when the plea offer is unreasonable—we fight.
But we also tell you when settlement makes sense. Not because we’re lazy or scared, but because we’re honest about the risks and realistic about outcomes.
Our job isn’t to try every case. Our job is to get you the best possible result, whether that’s through dismissal, negotiation, or trial.
This Holiday Season: Make Informed Decisions
If you’re currently facing charges and evaluating plea offers, you need attorneys who can give you honest, realistic advice based on experience.
We know how to evaluate evidence. We know when prosecutors are offering fair deals and when they’re lowballing. We know when to push for better offers and when to recommend acceptance.
Most importantly, we know when to fight. And we’re ready to do it.
Get Attorneys Who Know When to Settle and When to Fight
If you’re facing criminal charges in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, you need experienced attorneys who understand both negotiation and trial.
We’re former prosecutors who’ve negotiated hundreds of plea deals and tried hundreds of cases. We know the difference between a good offer and a bad one. We know when to accept and when to fight.
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your case. We’ll give you straight answers about your options, the strength of your case, and what outcomes are realistic.
Two former prosecutors. Two experienced trial attorneys. Honest advice about when to settle and when to fight.
Lewis & Ashworth, PLLC
Criminal Defense Attorneys
Plano, Texas
Serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex