Non-Prosecution, Deferred Prosecution, and Pretrial Diversion Agreements: Just Say No to Pleas

Deferred prosecution agreements are almost exclusively used in corporate prosecutions, but they are occasionally offered to individuals. Non-prosecution agreements, on the other hand, may be easily obtained for fact witnesses when defense counsel does not want to take the chance that a client is more culpable than originally thought. What are the most critical factors that influence prosecutors to enter into an NPA or a DPA?