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Why is count bargaining less common than other types of plea bargaining?
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Plea bargaining
A scene of the trials in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony, hand-colored engraving.
Count bargaining is considered the least common form of plea negotiation because it is applicable only to defendants who are facing multiple charges. In this process, a defendant may be permitted to plead guilty to a reduced number of counts, with the prosecutor agreeing to drop the remaining charges. Because this specific type of bargaining requires the existence of multiple charges against the defendant, it is inherently more limited in scope than other forms of plea bargaining, such as charge or sentence bargaining, which can be applied to a broader range of cases.1