plea bargain也作plea bargaining，意思是“控辩交易”，指在刑事诉讼中，检察官与被告人进行谈判，说服被告人作有罪答辩，以换取检察官的指控或法院判决上的让步。通常做法是如果被告人承认犯有某一较轻的罪行，或者承认控方多项指控〔multiple charges〕中的一项罪行，检察官可以对被告人降格指控，或者撤回对其他罪项的指控，或者建议法庭对被告人减轻处罚。检察官与被告人达成的协议经法院批准后即可执行。控辩交易的做法在出现之初引起了人们的争议。20世纪60年代美国最高法院宣布其为合法，从而得到广泛采用。

英文释义如下：

When the Government has a strong case, the Government may offer the defendant a plea deal to avoid trial and perhaps reduce his exposure to a more lengthy sentence.

A defendant may only plead guilty if they actually committed the crime and admits to doing so in open court before the judge. When the defendant admits to the crime, they agree they are guilty and they agree that they may be “sentenced” by the judge presiding over the court — the only person authorized to impose a sentence. Sometimes the Government will agree, as part of a plea agreement, not to recommend an enhanced sentence (such as additional time in prison for certain reasons) but it is left up to the judge to determine how the defendant will be punished.

If a defendant pleads guilty, there is no trial, but the next step is to prepare for a sentencing hearing.

具体使用场景可参考如下例句：

Tribunal judges met with the visiting members of the Kosovo judiciary to discuss topics including witness protection, plea bargaining, sentencing practice, case management, the appeals process, and legal standards in war crimes adjudication.

法庭的法官与来访的科 索沃司法机构成员举行了会议，双方讨论的主题包括证人保护、认罪求情协议、判决惯例、个案管理、申诉程序以及审判战争罪的法律标准。

At the same time, while plea negotiation is a growing trend as a measure of expediency, excessive use of plea bargaining to address backlogs should be avoided.

与此同时，虽然辩诉谈判越来越多地被用作权宜措施，但仍应避免过度使用辩诉交易来解决案件积压的问题。