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You must decide upon and enter a plea to the charge against you on or before the response date on your citation. If
you signed a citation in front of an officer, you did not plead guilty, but only signed a promise to appear in court within
thirty (30) days. There are three possible pleas to a complaint: 1) Guilty, 2) Nolo Contendere, and 3) Not Guilty.
Your decision on what plea to enter is the most important decision you will have to make. We suggest that you read
the following explanations of all three types of pleas before making your decision.
Plea of Guilty
A plea of guilty means that the act with which you are charged is prohibited by law, that you committed the act, and
that you have no defense or excuse for the act. Before you enter a plea of guilty, consider the following:
1. The State has the burden of proving that you violated the law.
2. You have the right to hear the State's evidence against you.
3. A plea of guilty may be used against you later in a civil suit.