The difference is that if you plea guilty in a criminal court, that plea can be used against you at any later civil trial. For example, if you are involved in a traffic accident and are issued a citation. If you stand in front of a judge and say that you are guilty and accept the punishment, you have admitted in court that you did the offense. That can be used against you in a trial if someone sues you as a result of your actions.
If you plea no contest, you will still be found guilty as far as paying a fine but you have not admitted any guilt. You simply said that it was not worth the time to fight. A plea of no contest cannot be held against you as an admission of guilt because you admitted nothing.
For just a speeding ticket, I don't see the difference. It never hurts but in reality as far as paying, it is the same. In any kind of incident, I would never plea guilty for the reason list above.
Plea: You have three options of how to plea: Guilty, Nolo Contendere (No Contest), and Not Guilty.
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.
Dismissals
Some tickets may be able to be dismissed by the Court without appearing on your Court date. The following can be dismissed with certain documentation, and a dismissal fee.
• FMFR - Insurance - no fee IF you provide proof to the court
• Failure to change address on driver's license within 30 days
• Failed to provide valid driver's license on demand
No Insurance: A citation for Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility may be dismissed with no fee. If you provide proof to the court showing you were insured the date you received the citation.
If the violations are corrected within 20 working days from the offense date or on or before your original court, the defendant may pay the following dismissal fees.
$20.00 dismissal fee on:
• Expired Inspection
• Expired Registration• No Driver's License
• Expired Driver's License
• Failure to change address on driver's license
$10.00 dismissal fee on:
• Obscured License Plate
• Defective Equipment
• Failed to provide valid Driver's License
Defensive Driving
In some cases the Defendant may be able to complete a Texas Driver’s Safety Course (DSC). You may be eligible if:
• You have been charged with a traffic offense under the Subtitle C,
Transportation Code;
• You have not taken a DSC within the last 12 months prior to the date of the traffic
offense;
• You have a valid Texas Class C driver’s license;
• You have proof of financial responsibility (Insurance)
• You are not currently taking a course for another violation;
• You have not committed on of the following offenses: Speeding 25 mph over the
speed limit; Failure to give information at the accident scene; Leaving the scene
of an accident; Fleeing or attempting to elude police officers; Reckless driving;
or passing a school bus.
As of September 1, 2003 you are not eligible for Deferred Disposition if you possess a Class A or B driver’s license, even if you are in a personal vehicle.
If you meet the eligibility requirements listed above, you may request a Driver’s Safety Course in person or through the mail (see Printable Forms) on or before your appearance date. You must pay the $107.10 at the time of the request. You may not attend a Driver’s Safety Course until your request has been granted by the Court. If granted, your case will be suspended for 90 days for you to attend a DSC, obtain a copy of your driving record from the State and return your driving record and course completion certificate to the Court. (The Court will provide you with a form to send to the State to request your driving record or you may request a copy online at TexasOnline.com -record type 3A only) There is a $10 fee to obtain your record from the State (additional fees for obtaining a copy online). You may attend any class that is approved by the Texas Education Agency. If you do not complete the course by your due date, you will need to pay the remaining balance.
If you plea no contest, you will still be found guilty as far as paying a fine but you have not admitted any guilt. You simply said that it was not worth the time to fight. A plea of no contest cannot be held against you as an admission of guilt because you admitted nothing.
For just a speeding ticket, I don't see the difference. It never hurts but in reality as far as paying, it is the same. In any kind of incident, I would never plea guilty for the reason list above.
Plea: You have three options of how to plea: Guilty, Nolo Contendere (No Contest), and Not Guilty.
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.
Dismissals
Some tickets may be able to be dismissed by the Court without appearing on your Court date. The following can be dismissed with certain documentation, and a dismissal fee.
• FMFR - Insurance - no fee IF you provide proof to the court
• Failure to change address on driver's license within 30 days
• Failed to provide valid driver's license on demand
No Insurance: A citation for Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility may be dismissed with no fee. If you provide proof to the court showing you were insured the date you received the citation.
If the violations are corrected within 20 working days from the offense date or on or before your original court, the defendant may pay the following dismissal fees.
$20.00 dismissal fee on:
• Expired Inspection
• Expired Registration• No Driver's License
• Expired Driver's License
• Failure to change address on driver's license
$10.00 dismissal fee on:
• Obscured License Plate
• Defective Equipment
• Failed to provide valid Driver's License
Defensive Driving
In some cases the Defendant may be able to complete a Texas Driver’s Safety Course (DSC). You may be eligible if:
• You have been charged with a traffic offense under the Subtitle C,
Transportation Code;
• You have not taken a DSC within the last 12 months prior to the date of the traffic
offense;
• You have a valid Texas Class C driver’s license;
• You have proof of financial responsibility (Insurance)
• You are not currently taking a course for another violation;
• You have not committed on of the following offenses: Speeding 25 mph over the
speed limit; Failure to give information at the accident scene; Leaving the scene
of an accident; Fleeing or attempting to elude police officers; Reckless driving;
or passing a school bus.
As of September 1, 2003 you are not eligible for Deferred Disposition if you possess a Class A or B driver’s license, even if you are in a personal vehicle.
If you meet the eligibility requirements listed above, you may request a Driver’s Safety Course in person or through the mail (see Printable Forms) on or before your appearance date. You must pay the $107.10 at the time of the request. You may not attend a Driver’s Safety Course until your request has been granted by the Court. If granted, your case will be suspended for 90 days for you to attend a DSC, obtain a copy of your driving record from the State and return your driving record and course completion certificate to the Court. (The Court will provide you with a form to send to the State to request your driving record or you may request a copy online at TexasOnline.com -record type 3A only) There is a $10 fee to obtain your record from the State (additional fees for obtaining a copy online). You may attend any class that is approved by the Texas Education Agency. If you do not complete the course by your due date, you will need to pay the remaining balance.
Great post! Thanks for this useful information.
Fighting a speeding ticket
I had been awake since 5 am. I had been driving since 1130 am but took 30 to 45 min breaks every 2 hours to keep alert and to care for the young child. I was driving 10 mph under the speed limit due to transporting someone else's chilld.I was watching the road up ahead and I saw something strange and it fascinated me. It was 20 wind turbines but appeared as one thick pole with many arms. I had never seen anything like it. I suddenly realize I'm about to rear end someone, and I am going very fast. I was hypnotized kinda and it was a trooper I was about to run over. When he pulled me over, I explained the situation and also was shaking and knew as a nurse what the trooper could have looked like if I had wrecked into him and caused his car to lose control. I apologized and he wrote me a ticket for speeding. I was so disappointed because I had driven so carefully until this dangerous distraction happened.it was a road I had never traveled. There was no traffic. I'd meet an oncoming driver on separated highway once every ten to 20 minutes. It was a beautiful clear day. I have no idea how long I was in this trance but I know there was a huge curve going west to go around the land that the turbines were on about a mile ahead. I could have died that day. The possibilities are endless. Do I write the judge and explain why there was a sudden increase in speed or do I just plead no contest and life goes on? I know the trooper was watching his radar and knew something was wrong because I continued to gain speed quickly until I was dangerously close to the rear end of his vehicle.
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