a plea bargain is "an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor, in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty or "no contest" (nolo contendere) in exchange for an agreement by the prosecutor to drop one or more charges, reduce a charge to a less serious offense, or recommend to the judge a specific sentence ..."
The inquiry which is literally the process of asking for information is generally the first main phase in response to a research misconduct allegation.
