Final answer:
A request for confession in litigation is a procedural tool where one party asks the other to admit to certain facts, which then do not need to be proven in trial. It streamlines the trial process by establishing agreed upon facts and is different from plea bargaining, where a defendant may admit guilt for leniency.
Step-by-step explanation:
A request for confession in the context of litigation is about asking the opposing party to admit relevant facts related to the case.
This procedural step is an integral part of the discovery process where the admitting party acknowledges certain facts to be true, which thereby could avoid the need to prove those facts at trial.
It is not about admitting guilt or seeking leniency (which is more closely related to plea bargaining), demanding a settlement, or seeking a delay in legal proceedings.
Under the adversarial judicial system, such requests for admission are a tool used to streamline the trial process and focus on contested issues.
Furthermore, they help in the efficiency of the legal system by potentially reducing the number of issues that need to be litigated, as any admitted facts are then deemed established for the duration of the litigation.
The disclosure process mandates that both sides exchange relevant information, and a request for confession is a formalized way to acknowledge certain evidence without dispute.
Should parties reach an agreement through plea bargaining, the defendant often pleads guilty to a lesser charge or receives a lighter sentence. This is a separate process from confession requests in civil litigation and involves the defendant waiving rights to trial protections in exchange for concessions from the prosecution.