Legal Definitions - rolled-up plea

A rolled-up plea is a type of agreement in criminal law where a defendant agrees to plead guilty to one or more charges, often less serious ones, in exchange for the prosecution dismissing other, usually more serious, charges or agreeing not to pursue additional charges. This arrangement is a common form of plea bargaining, designed to streamline the legal process and potentially result in a less severe sentence for the defendant than if they were convicted of all original charges after a trial.

Here are some examples illustrating how a rolled-up plea might work:

• Imagine a situation where a person is initially charged with both aggravated assault (a serious felony) and simple battery (a less serious misdemeanor) after an altercation. Through negotiations, the defendant might agree to a rolled-up plea where they plead guilty to the simple battery charge. In return, the prosecutor agrees to drop the more severe aggravated assault charge. This allows the defendant to avoid the harsher penalties associated with a felony conviction, while still taking responsibility for a lesser offense.

• Consider a case where an individual is accused of multiple counts of theft, specifically three separate instances of grand theft and one count of petty theft. Instead of going to trial on all four charges, the defense attorney and prosecutor might negotiate a rolled-up plea. The defendant could agree to plead guilty to one count of grand theft and the petty theft charge. In exchange, the prosecution would dismiss the remaining two grand theft charges. This reduces the total number of convictions and potential sentencing exposure for the defendant.

• Suppose a person is arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (a felony carrying significant prison time) and simple possession of a controlled substance (a less severe felony or misdemeanor). To avoid the risk of a lengthy sentence if convicted of the more serious charge at trial, the defendant might enter a rolled-up plea. They would plead guilty to the simple possession charge, and the prosecution would then drop the intent to distribute charge. This allows the defendant to accept a conviction for a less serious offense with a potentially lighter sentence.