Justice Concepts and Legal Counsel presents signed contracts with clients with team meetings at law firms with perches and scales on the table.

Plea Negotiation

If you accept responsibility and intend to plead guilty, instructing Sloan & Co to negotiate a favourable plea on your behalf can bring significant benefits when it comes to the sentence imposed by the Court. Resolving a case early not only helps to reduce the number or gravity of the charges that you are asked to plead guilty to, but also allows us to influence the narrative of events presented to the Court. Most importantly, it can lead to a potential reduction in the sentence you receive.

Plea negotiation is especially valuable when you accept certain charges or aspects of an allegation, but dispute others. In such cases, we can work to exclude the disputed matters from the plea, ensuring that the charges reflect only what you accept.

The law in Scotland encourages early case resolution by offering discounts in sentence based on when a guilty plea is entered. Under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity can result in a sentence reduction of up to 33%. This applies to any type of sentence, whether it be a fine, community service, or imprisonment. Even after the earliest stages, a discount of up to 25% may still be available, though the discount decreases the closer the case gets to trial. A plea entered on the day of trial is unlikely to result in more than a 10% discount.

Another key advantage of resolving a case with a guilty plea is that it gives us some control over what the Sheriff or Judge hears about the facts of the case. When a guilty plea is entered, an agreed narrative of events is presented to the Court, this being the result of discussions between the Crown and the defence. If there are aspects of the Crown's proposed narrative that you dispute, we can make representations to ensure those elements are excluded. This ensures that the case reflects only what you accept and can significantly reduce the perceived gravity of the charge, helping to mitigate any negative impact.

When facing criminal charges, achieving the best possible outcome sometimes means making the most of a difficult situation. At Sloan & Co, we will expertly advocate on your behalf, negotiate the most favourable plea terms, and present focused mitigation to minimise the consequences of any conviction.