Describe the pretrial process and the actions taken by the prosecution and the defense. Explain the practice of plea bargaining and why is it important for the criminal justice system?

"A plea bargain is defined as an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and the defendant where the prosecutor convinces the defendant to plead guilty to a lesser charge or to the original charge with a recommendation of a lighter sentence. A plea bargain allows the defendant to skip the lengthy process of a court trial and to avoid being convicted of the possible stronger charge. There are three types of plea bargaining available to defendants today.

The three forms of plea bargaining are:

Charge Bargaining: This is used when a defendant pleads guilty to a less serious crime than the one originally imposed

Count Bargaining: This is used when the defendant pleads guilty to a fewer number of the charges.

Sentence Bargaining: This is used when the defendant pleads guilty knowing what sentence will be given."