Bargaining sessions are insulated from intrusion by standard practices which protect focused interactions. Defendants are 'processed' not in any automatic way, but by carefully orchestrated lines of interactions, which render those defendants indistinguishable to judges and other observers. These features are due not to 'overcrowding,' but to the way conduct is organized in the court. Defendants' contributions to the courtroom's social order are related to character assessment, a central activity in plea bargaining. (Author abstract)