Plea bargain
Plea bargain as a formal legal provision was introduced in Pakistan by the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, an anti-corruption law. A special feature of this plea bargain is that the accused applies for it, accepting guilt, and offers to return the proceeds of corruption as determined by investigators/prosecutors. After an endorsement by the Chairman National Accountability Bureau, the request is presented before the court, which decides whether it should be accepted or not. If the request for plea bargain is accepted by the court, the accused stands convicted but neither is sentenced if in trial nor undergoes any sentence previously pronounced by a lower court if in appeal. The accused is disqualified to take part in elections, hold any public office, or obtain a loan from any bank; the accused is also dismissed from service if a government official.
Lafler v. Cooper
Cooper argued that even though there is no right to a plea agreement itself, criminal defendants have the right to be assisted by competent counsel "during" plea negotiations. Accordingly, Cooper argued that criminal defendants can be prejudiced by ineffective assistance of counsel during plea negotiations, even if the subsequent trial was fair. Cooper also pointed out that every federal court of appeals to have considered the issue, and 25 of the 27 states to have considered the issue, agreed that counsel's deficient performance during plea negotiations can constitute "Strickland" prejudice.