Safe Havens

In many state courts, the plea agreement is reached informally between the prosecution and the defense, and is stated orally on the record at the beginning of the plea colloquy.  The plea agreement may also be briefly written into a Waiver of Rights form used to memorialize the many fundamental constitutional rights being waived by the entry of a guilty plea. 

            In federal court, and some state courts, a more formal written Plea Agreement is used, which may, in addition, contain a fairly detailed description of the facts of the offense, either in the body of the document or in an attachment.