in state court, when a plea is agreed to, the prosecutor and defense negotiate the sentence. the judge doesn't have to accept it, but 99% of the time it's rubber stamped. in state court, the down-charged crimes are usually more related to certainty of the evidence, risk in the case, political careers involved of the prosecutor, and cost to the state in actually taking it to trial. when there's no genuine issue of dispute, one side usually folds, and usually that's the defendant. prosecutor will occasionally negotiate down the charge, but usually much less than federal, because they have near total control over negotiating the sentence.
in federal court, this does not exist. the prosecutor and defense can only negotiate to what the prosecutor ADVISES the sentence should be. the judge still has full authority within federal sentencing guidelines, and the defendant is fucked if the federal judge is having a bad day. this is why in federal court, pleas are down-charged far more often... because the defense much less likely to agree to plea to a full charge that has much higher ranges on prison time, when the judge can nuke them after the fact.
in state court, when a plea is agreed to, the prosecutor and defense negotiate the sentence. the judge doesn't have to accept it, but 99% of the time it's rubber stamped. in state court, the down-charged crimes are usually more related to certainty of the evidence, risk in the case, political careers involved of the prosecutor, and cost to the state in actually taking it to trial. when there's no genuine issue of dispute, one side usually folds, and usually that's the defendant. prosecutor will occasionally negotiate down the charge, but usually much less than federal, because they have near total control over negotiating the sentence.
in federal court, this does not exist. the prosecutor and defense can only negotiate to what the prosecutor ADVISES the sentence should be. the judge still has full authority within federal sentencing guidelines, and the defendant is fucked if the federal judge is having a bad day. this is why in federal court, pleas are down-charged far more often... because the defense much less likely to agree to plea to a full charge that has much higher ranges on prison time, when the judge can nuke them after the fact.