Okuzeka
Criminal Law & Justice vocabulary · Charges & the Pre-Trial Stage

Plead guilty

Meaning in criminal law & justice, with examples

/ˌpliːd ˈɡɪlti/phraseCore term

In criminal law & justice, plead guilty means: To tell the court formally that you admit committing the crime you are charged with; 'plead not guilty' means you deny it.

In Turkish: suçlamayı kabul etmek, suçunu ikrar etmek, suçu üstlenmek

How it is used

A key step in common law courts: the defendant pleads guilty or not guilty at an early hearing, and a guilty plea usually leads straight to sentencing, often with a reduction. Past forms: 'pleaded' (British and formal) or 'pled' (common in American English). The noun is 'plea'.

Example sentences

  1. He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud.

  2. She intends to plead not guilty and go to trial.

  3. Defendants who plead guilty early usually receive a shorter sentence.

Common collocations

  • plead guilty to
  • plead not guilty
  • guilty plea
  • enter a plea
  • change a plea
  • plea bargainAn agreement in which the defendant pleads guilty, often to a less serious charge, in return for a lighter sentence or the dropping of other charges.
  • guiltyOfficially judged by a court to have committed a crime; the opposite verdict is 'not guilty'.
  • sentenceThe punishment that a judge gives a person who has been found guilty; as a verb, to give someone a particular punishment.
  • confessionA statement in which a person admits that they committed a crime, usually made to the police during questioning.
  • mitigating circumstancesFacts about an offence or offender that make the crime less serious or the offender less to blame, and so can lead to a lighter sentence.

More terms: Charges & the Pre-Trial Stage

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.