Plea Bargaining with the Judge

The case is ready for trial and all parties are present. From the bench, the judge makes a final attempt to resolve the case by saying "if we need to do a trial that's fine, and I can call for a jury right now -- but I'm just letting you all know that if the defendant was willing to plead to count 1 and state was willing to dismiss count 2, I'd be inclined to give supervised probation and we could get this case wrapped up today." Of course every county and every judge is unique, but most criminal attorneys have at least occasionally experienced some type of participation from the bench in working out a plea. So we know that it happens, but is it actually authorized by our statutes? Should it be? If it is, what are the limits, and what's fair game for negotiation? Are the judge's terms binding? Background: Jurisdictional Split Across the country, there are starkly opposing views on whether trial judges should be involved in plea negotiations at all. One recent survey found a nearly even split among the states, along with differing views among federal district courts: Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C. bar judicial participation in plea negotiations. Twenty states now permit judicial participation in plea negotiations by either procedural rule or the common law. Two states eliminated absolute bans and permit judicial participation in limited situations. Three states discourage judicial participation. Additionally, at least seven district courts permitted judicial participation by local rules [...]