cop a plea

Idioms  

1. Plead guilty or confess to a crime in exchange for a lighter sentence; also, plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for not being tried for a more serious charge. For example, Arnold decided he was better off copping a plea than facing a jury . [ Colloquial ; 1920s]

2. Plead for mercy; make excuses. For example, He copped a plea about not knowing his way around . [ Slang ; c. 1940]

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Example Sentences

Maybe that is why, with closing statements scheduled for Monday, the lawyer for defendant William “Roddie” Bryan reportedly asked prosecutors if his client could cop a plea.

From Washington Post

Recondite, lips zipped tight — ’cause of you, Vance can’t jail me Awesome to see you not cop a plea, turn on me like Cohen.

From Washington Post

"If my children were threatened to be locked up, if I didn't cop a plea, I'd cop the plea," Watters told fellow co-host Juan Williams.

From Fox News

Rather than cop a plea for carrying some weed, you’d now be charged with carrying an illegal weapon — and end up serving a much longer sentence.

From Washington Times

And however odd it seems, we should celebrate the fact that Cohen, the man who did Trump’s legal dirty work for so many years, decided that he wanted to cop a plea — and, in the process, to present himself as a man seeking to serve his country by telling the truth at last about his former boss.

From Washington Post