The criminal justice system, wherein nearly all cases are resolved through a guilty plea, is tenuously balanced on prosecutorial discretion in the context of the plea-bargaining process. This shift in the balance of power away from judges and juries is particularly troubling given the lack of formal legal safeguards afforded to defendants engaging in plea bargaining rather than going to trial. The main issue is not prosecutorial discretion per se, or even overzealous prosecutors, but the lack of oversight of the plea-bargaining process and the imbalance of power itself, which threatens the legitimacy and stability of the criminal justice system. This Article argues for the importance of prosecutorial discretion as a potentially valuable tool and analyzes how and why it creates potential for abuse. The Article concludes with suggestions for recreating a balance of power, by addressing issues arising from unequal access to information throughout the plea-bargaining process, recentering a defendant’s constitutional rights within the justice system, and implementing safeguards in the prosecutorial function prospectively.