sign in sign up
<<
Home , Plea

Types of Pleas

Plea of Guilty By pleading guilty, you admit that you committed the act charged, that the act is prohibited by law, and that you have no defense for your actions. Before entering your plea of guilty, you need to understand the following:

 The State has the burden of proving its case against you. You have the right to hear the State's and to require it to prove its case. If it does not, the law does not require you to prove anything.  If you were involved in a traffic accident at the time of the alleged offense, your plea of guilty could be used later in a civil suit for damages as an admission by you that you were at fault or were the party responsible for the accident.

Plea of (No Contest) A plea of nolo contendere, also known as no contest, simply means that you do not wish to contest the State's charge against you. Nolo contendere has the same legal effect as a guilty plea; but without the civil liability. You may also be able to talk to City Prosecutor about circumstances regarding the violation.

Plea of Not Guilty A plea of not guilty means that you are informing the Court that you deny and that the State must prove its charges against you. If you plead not guilty, your case will be scheduled for the next available date. You will need to decide whether to employ an attorney to represent you at trial. Only you or a licensed attorney may defend a case in court.

If you represent yourself, please be advised that this court is a court of record. All proceedings will be conducted according to the rules of and the rules of evidence. If you choose to represent yourself, you must be prepared. The court staff, bailiff, prosecuting attorney or judge cannot act as your attorney by providing legal advice or legal assistance in the presentation of your case.

Under our American system of justice, all persons are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. On a plea of not guilty, a formal trial will be scheduled. As in a criminal trial, the State is required to prove the guilt of the "beyond a " of the offense charged in the complaint before a defendant can be found guilty by a judge or jury.