What Happens If You Reject a Plea Deal and Lose at Trial?

If you turn down a plea bargain and lose at trial, your sentence can be far longer than the deal you were offered. That gap is often called the trial penalty.

A plea bargain is a deal where you plead guilty, usually in exchange for fewer charges or a lighter sentence recommendation. Before you decide, you need to weigh how strong the government's case is, what you face if convicted, and whether you are actually guilty and willing to say so.

A plea deal is a double-edged sword. The "discount" it offers can still cost a great deal of a person's life, yet turning it down can lead to much harsher punishment. Here are two examples of what happened after people said no.

An Alabama Felony Murder Case: 25 Years Offered, 65 Years Imposed

On February 23, 2015, in a town near Montgomery, Alabama, five young people broke into several homes to steal what they could. At one of the homes, they came face to face with police.

As they tried to flee, police said 16-year-old A'Donte Washington fired a revolver at officers. An officer fired back and killed him.

The others, including 15-year-old Lakeith Smith, were charged with burglary, theft, and felony murder. Felony murder is a rule that can hold everyone in a felony responsible for a death that happens during it, even if they did not cause it.

Prosecutors offered Smith a deal for 25 years. He turned it down. After trial, in 2018, the judge sentenced him to a total of 65 years. According to the original article, Smith laughed when he heard the sentence.

The judge noted that Smith showed no remorse at trial. Even when his own grandfather urged him at the sentencing hearing, Smith was reluctant to apologize for a crime that led to his friend's death. The judge summed up Smith's attitude in one sentence: "You just don't get it, do you?"

News reports say an Alabama appeals court later cut the sentence to 55 years, and in 2023 he was resentenced to 30 years. Even so, he received more time than the deal he rejected would have given on his main charge, and he spent years facing a far longer term.

A New Jersey Robbery Case: 6 Months Offered, 11 Years Imposed

A young man in southern New Jersey secretly had his girlfriend's car title put in his name. Later, during a fight, he knocked her down, stomped on her back while wearing Timberland boots, took her keys, and drove off in her car.

The Camden County Prosecutor's Office offered a deal: plead guilty, and it would recommend only six months behind bars. He refused.

The state Attorney General's Office then took over and added the motor vehicle fraud charges to the assault and robbery charges. He was convicted at trial and sentenced to 11 years.

Should You Take a Plea Deal?

In both cases, saying no led to much harsher sentences. The Alabama teen's family faced losing almost all contact with him for decades, and the New Jersey man lost more than a decade of his life. The original article called it a true tragedy that our justice system relies so heavily on these deals. Even so, there are two schools of thought on plea bargaining.

The Case for Plea Bargains

Plea deals resolve almost all federal cases. In fiscal year 2024, about 97% of people sentenced in federal court pleaded guilty, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. If everyone went to trial, the courts could not keep up.

A plea agreement works like a contract. It gives both sides more certainty than a jury verdict.

It can also give you some control over your sentence. In federal court, pleading guilty usually earns a reduction under the Guidelines for acceptance of responsibility (USSG § 3E1.1). Judges also tend to view taking responsibility favorably. As the examples above show, the first plea offer can be far lower than the sentence after trial.

Supporters call plea bargains the lifeblood of the justice system. They let cases be resolved efficiently, make outcomes more predictable, and save taxpayers a great deal of money by avoiding a flood of trials.

The Case Against Plea Bargains

Critics say the system is flawed because it lacks oversight from a neutral judge and gives prosecutors too much power. In federal court, the judge is not allowed to take part in plea talks (Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(c)(1)). And the defense may not have seen all the evidence when an offer is made, so it can be hard to tell whether the deal is fair.

Critics point to three main problems:

1. Prosecutors may file every possible charge. Dropping some then looks like a gift, even if those charges would not hold up at trial.
2. The first offer is often the best one. If you say no, the prosecutor may penalize you harshly, and the recommended sentence may get worse the longer the case goes on. And that first offer can still be too high.
3. An innocent person may plead guilty to avoid the risk of a much longer sentence after trial. A system has gone wrong when innocent people conclude that doing time for a crime they did not commit is better than going to trial.

Before You Decide

Every case is different, and the right choice depends on the evidence and the deal on the table. A few points apply in every federal case:

• Your lawyer must tell you about any formal plea offer from the government. The Supreme Court held that failing to do so can violate your Sixth Amendment right to effective counsel (Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S. 134 (2012)).
• Ask your lawyer to compare, in writing if possible, the likely Guidelines range with the plea and without it, along with any mandatory minimum that applies either way.
• If you are in custody, don't talk about the offer or the facts of your case on recorded jail phones or email.

Taking a plea deal often leads to a shorter sentence than losing at trial. Still, no one should feel pushed to plead guilty to a crime they did not commit. When pleading guilty becomes the more rational choice for an innocent person, the process has failed.

Facing a federal sentence? Book a consultation to talk it through with Brandon Sample.