How does this work in court? Pleading guilty to a case guarantees a sentence. Whereas not guilty allows you a chance to defend yourself. Doesn’t seem like most defendants would plead guilty. Why is this even a thing?
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Usually when faced with a trial the prosecution will offer you the chance to plead guilty to a lesser charge for a lesser sentence/penalty in order to not have to spend the time/money/effort of arguing a full trial. Depending on the charge, the defendant might find this more advantageous than risking a much bigger penalty by going to trial and having to rely on 12 strangers to decide your fate.
It’s also very common for minor things, like speeding tickets and traffic offenses. You can often plea bargain these to lower speeds or offenses so you may wind up paying a higher fine, but you won’t get points on your license that would cause your insurance rate to increase
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