The criminally accused has a right to a trial.  The accused has the right to demand a jury trial if a charge against the accused is punishable by more than 6 months incarceration.  During the trial, the prosecutor will have the burden of proving every element of the charged crime "beyond a reasonable doubt".  To attempt to meet this burden, the prosecutor will call witnesses and might enter exhibits into evidence.  The accused has the right to cross examine the prosecutor's witnesses (to try to show that they are lying, mistaken, or to get other information beneficial to the accused).  The accused will also have the right to call witnesses and enter exhibits.  The accused has the right to remain silent, so the accused can testify if the accused decides to testify, but if the accused does testify, then the accused waives the right to remain silent and can be cross examined by the prosecutor.

If every person accused of a crime demanded a trail, then the court system would get flooded with cases.  For judicial efficiency, the court will usually consider the plea negotiation a "mercy" sentence.  If the accused spends the court's time, the prosecutor's time, and the jury's time, and is found guilt, then the court will usually consider a "justice" sentence (no longer a "mercy" sentence).

Some attorneys push clients into trial due to the monetary benefits to the attorney.   Trial can become very expensive for the client.  The trial preparation and the trial itself require a lot of time from the attorney.  The accused should consider having a trial if one of the following conditions exists:

1.	If the accused is truly innocent and the prosecutor will not drop the case,
2.	If there is no possible way the government will be able to prove the case against the accused,
3.	If the accused is not a legal U.S. citizen (fearing deportation) and the accused would rather gamble with a trail (knowing that if the accused loses at trial the accused might get incarcerated and then deported),
4.	If the prosecutor's plea offer is so close to the maximum that the accused has little to lose by going to trial, or
5.	If the accused loses a motion on an issue that is not able to be appealed until after trial and the accused is willing to risk incarceration to eventually appeal the issue.

If the accused decides to go to trial, the criminal defense attorney should be very familiar with prosecuting criminal cases.  Additionally, the accused should be certain that the attorney is able to devote an appropriate amount of time to the accused person's case.