Plea bargaining in the United States
The constitutionality of plea bargaining was established by "Brady v. United States" in 1970, although the Supreme Court warned that plea incentives which were sufficiently large or coercive as to over-rule defendants' abilities to act freely, or used in a manner giving rise to a significant number of innocent people pleading guilty, might be prohibited or lead to concerns over constitutionality. "Santobello v. New York" added that when plea bargains are broken, legal remedies exist.
New York City Criminal Court
Plea bargain negotiations take place in the AP Parts prior to the case being in a trial-ready posture, and depending upon caseloads, the judges in the AP Parts may conduct pre-trial and felony motion hearings. The most common pre-trial evidence suppression hearings are "Mapp" (warrantless searches and probable cause), "Dunaway" (confessions), "Huntley" (Miranda rights), "Wade" (identification evidence like lineups), and "Johnson" ("Terry" stops) hearings. Trial Parts also conduct pre-trial motion hearings, including "Sandoval" (witness impeachment) and "Molineux" (admissibility of prior uncharged crimes) hearings. Once pretrial hearings are completed, the case is considered ready for trial and will usually be transferred to a courtroom that specializes in handling trials.