Plea Information
Plea Definitions:
You have three options of how to plea: Guilty, Nolo Contendere (No Contest), and Not Guilty. Please read the information below for a better understanding.
Guilty: A plea of guilty is admitting that you violated the law and have no defense or excuse for committing this act. Before entering a plea of guilty, you should understand the following: The State has the burden of proof of proving that you violated the law (the law does not require that you prove you did not violate the law); you have the right to hear the State’s evidence and to require the State to prove you violated the law; and, A plea of guilty may be used against you later in a civil suit if there was a traffic accident (another party can say you were at fault or responsible for the accident because you pled guilty to the traffic charge).
Nolo Contendere (No Contest): A Nolo Contendere plea means that you do not contest the State’s charge against you. Unless you are eligible and successfully complete a Defensive Driving course or Court ordered probation, you will almost certainly be found Guilty. A plea of no contest cannot be used against you in a subsequent civil suit for damages.
Not Guilty: A Not Guilty plea is informing the Court that you deny guilt or that you have a good defense in your case and the State must prove what it has charged against you. You will next need to decide if you want to hire an attorney. You have the right to have an attorney represent you, but the Court is not required to provide you with an attorney.
Contest the Charge: If you wish to plead not guilty and wish to contest your charge you will be set on a pretrial docket. This will need to be done in person or by mail, before your appearance date on the citation. If this is done in person you will be given a court date at the window. If you mail in your request you must send in a self-addressed stamped envelope along with the Plea Form and the Not Guilty plea signed with a request for a Bench Trial or Jury Trial, then we will mail you the court date back.