Plea bargains are an important element of the criminal justice system in New Jersey and across the U.S. The American Bar Association reports that approximately 98% of criminal convictions in the U.S. come from guilty pleas rather than from trials. Plea bargains help our justice system function efficiently by reducing the need for criminal trials and the administrative resources they require.

However, criminal defendants who know they may or will also face civil claims for their conduct are much less likely to accept a plea bargain. Plea bargains qualify as statements of a party opponent, which are admissible as evidence in a New Jersey civil trial under N.J.R.E. 803(b)(1). Thus, a defendant’s criminal plea could come back to haunt them in a later civil trial regarding the same conduct that led to criminal charges.