Plea bargaining is a common practice in US criminal courts where prosecutors agree to a fixed punishment in exchange for a defendant's guilty plea. However, judges can impose sentences that differ from plea bargains if they disagree with the severity. The document asks a series of questions about plea bargaining, including its reasons, fairness, conflicts with mandatory sentences, and problems. The reader is then asked to select one criminal justice issue from a prior assignment to research further through a literature review analyzing the topic and proposing required changes supported by references.