The current Federal conviction rate is above 97% overall, with the majority being plea agreements. Defendants are overcharged with crimes so they will be more amenable to taking plea agreements.I would take issue with the "overcharged" part if that means a count in the indictment exceeds the admissible evidence to prove the specific elements of the alleged offense. I realize Federal districts can vary to a degree, but the DOJ guidelines control the variance.
And I'm not commenting on this specifically named "substitute" U.S. Attorney.
The Government has a "nasty" habit of charging defendants with multiple counts in indictments and more often than ought to be the sentencing for the counts requires a "stacked" sentence with high minimums with oppressive provisions in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines that increase the sentences well beyond the minimum set by Congress.
The potential long sentences without "good time" that is customarily seen in state cases, which means the defendant will do day for day on the sentence with very little reduction if any, is what gets pleas on a negotiated agreement, which must come early in the proceeding in order to gain some relief for "cooperation" with the Government by not contesting discovery and/or other evidentiary matters while the case is pending.