To shift gears: I have a question for the law-literate folks here:

In this county, defendants accused of multiple felonies get a hearing before the judge who'll hear the trial--if it goes to trial. The judge tells the defendant what penalty he'll get if he goes to trial and is found guilty, or what he'll get if he pleads not guilty. Obviously the judge, like counterparts everywhere else in the US, wants to avoid a trial.

My question: do you think this is coercive, especially coming from the same judge who'll hear the trial? Does it imply that the judge's mind is already made up? Shouldn't plea possibilities be worked out between the prosecutor and the defense lawyer, and communicated to the defendant by his lawyer?