You see it all the time in courtroom dramas and movies. A defendant stands up and is asked how he will plead. The defendant says, “Not guilty, your honor,” and everyone in the courtroom gasps in surprise.
The truth is that pleading guilty or not guilty is very rarely as dramatic an event as it is portrayed on the big screen. However, the consequences of a plea are very significant — not only to the proceedings that follow, but also to the outcome for the defendant.
Contrary to popular belief, pleading guilty or not guilty is not just about whether the defendant feels he or she is innocent or guilty of the crimes they are being accused of. In fact, it is not uncommon for those who actually committed a crime to plead not guilty, or, perhaps even more surprisingly, for those who did not commit a crime to plead guilty.
Pleading Guilty
In many circumstances, both the prosecution and the defense will already know ahead of time that a defendant will plead guilty. Pleading guilty is often part of a plea bargain in which the defendant will receive lesser punishments for their plea. If the crime is smaller in nature, the judge will sometimes read the sentence immediately following the plea. In larger cases, sentencing will be determined by a number of processes that follow the plea.
As the defendant pleads guilty, the judge will ask the defendant a series of questions to determine whether the defendant’s plea is knowing and intelligent. Questions will primarily be based around the rights that the defendant is giving up by pleading guilty, and whether the Defendant actually understands what he or she is doing.
Sadly, pleading guilty is common for those in Kentucky who don’t have the financial means to take a case through many processes of the criminal justice system. Imprisonment, bail, and the costs of a trial are simply too great for some defendants. If pleading guilty means that the defendant faces no more jail time (even though they face other forms of punishment and have a criminal record), the accused will often concede to pleading guilty simply because they don’t have the resources to go to trial.
In some circumstances, an attorney might think it is in the best interest of their client to plead guilty (or enter an Alford plea) because of the difficulty the defendant will face in trial and/or the deal offered by the prosecution outweighs the risks involved in a trial. A skilled defense attorney will be able to assess the needs of their client and advise them on the best course of action for their situation.
Pleading Not Guilty
Pleading not guilty means that the defendant will be heading to a pretrial conference where the details of the trial will be examined and terms set forth over a potential trial. Settlements can sometimes be reached in this stage of the process.
Pleading not guilty doesn’t necessarily mean that defendant is claiming they are completely innocent. It simply means that they are not admitting to all of the charges made against them.
Pleading guilty, by contrast, typically means that the defendant is agreeing that they did commit the crimes they are being accused of. In situations where there are multiple charges against a defendant, and the defendant wishes to dispute some of the charges against them even if some of them are true, they will typically plead not guilty.
The choice to plead guilty or not guilty isn’t simply a matter of guilt or innocence. It can be a complicated decision that is based on a number of factors, the most important of which is what plea is in the best interest of the defendant.
A skilled criminal defense attorney is vital for any defendant in Kentucky, no matter what their plea might be or whether or not they did or did not actually commit the crime. Some of the intricacies involved in the critical decision of pleading guilty or not guilty stem from flaws in the criminal justice system, and some of them are simply strategic considerations that must be made in order to provide the best defense possible.
In other words, always consult with your attorney regarding your plea.
If you (or a loved one) have been arrested in Kentucky or in the Lexington area in particular, call my office at (859) 685-1055 for a free consultation. Our lawyers specialize in helping defendants fight back on assault charges, misdemeanors, domestic violence, property crimes, drug charges and more, call today.