I live in Massachusetts and one time received a speeding ticket in New Hampshire. As with others, I am more concerned with the insurance surcharge than with the amount of the fine – but I was speeding, so I didn’t want to fight it. Looking on the back of the ticket, I found that I could either plead guilty and pay the fine or plead “nolo contendere” and pay the fine. I asked a lawyer friend about the term “nolo contendere” and he told me that it was like pleading no contest – you were not admitting guilt, just expediting the matter.
The fine was the same regardless if you pled guilty or nolo contendere, so I checked off the latter and sent the fine. That was three years ago, and the ticket never showed up on my driving record. Which leads me to believe that either:
pleading “nolo contendere” keeps the incident off your record, since you never admitted to it – but if that’s the case, why would anyone plead guilty on a speeding ticket?
there’s not really a practical difference, and I just lucked out in that my speeding ticket fell through the cracks – but if so, why have the two separate options?
Confession time. We computer lab nerds had the habit of crawling into the lab to play all night n day games of quake through one of our office windows, then using our lab keys to get in.
Some dumbass saw us doing that once, and called, not campus security (who were familiar with our habits), but the state police.
The school dropped the resulting charges, and I got a nolo contendere. Which I think means not prosecuted or somesuch.
In any case, I don’t have a criminal record as a result.
I didn’t, though, know that was even an option on the ticket. slight hijack
I recently payed a ticket for driving 40 in a 30 zone. Didn’t really think about it.
Recently, while driving by I realised that that road has always had a limit of 40. (which makes sense, since it is a fairly major road - University Blvd. for those from this area).
Is there anything I can do about the ticket now that I’ve payed? Can I at least get the point(s) removed?
my WAG would be that since it occured in another state, it didn’t show up on your driving record in your home state. The different states have a hard enough time keeping track of CRIMINAL convictions of each others without getting into the civil infractions.
and, my understanding of nolo contendre is that it would STILL appear as a criminal conviction on your record. Dropping the charge is totally different Kyber
My aunt got a speeding ticket in New Hampshire, must have been 20 years ago. Her boyfried was a lawyer and he told her to plead “nolo contendere.” (She had to go to court to do so). When she tried to enter her plea, the judge told her (in so many words) not to be a smartass, it’s guilty or not guilty. She pleaded guilty.
wring is right. Insurance companies can’t keep up with your interstate violations. Not always, anyway. Nolo contendere is “no contest” in Latin. That’s it, you can’t compare it to a plea of guilty or not guilty, it is it’s own animal. It’s basically like shrugging your shoulders at the judge and saying, “Whatever I got to do to get out of here.” Bottom line: you got lucky about it not showing up on your record.
This has been discussed before. Pleading no contest is pretty much the same as pleading guilty for the purposes of that court. The difference is that later you do not have a guilty plea which could be used against you in a civil trial.
If there was an accident and you pleaded guilty, the other party could use that when they sued you in civil court whereas they cannot use a no contest plea against you.
But for the purposes of the traffic court you are guilty as charged.
Probably the most bass-ackwards place I’d ever gotten a ticket was in the state of Texas, and it showed up on my Michigan driver record. At the time (1996) the whole state still seemed to do everything by paper. In any case, in case any of y’all go to Texas, it seems to be illegal to turn left on a red light there (onto a one-way road, that is).
I pulled that once in Front Royal, Virginia. The judge chuckled and asked me to please explain.
“Well, Your Honor, there I was in my red sports car, windows down, with my blonde girlfriend in the passenger seat…”
By the time I finished, the judge was heaving in suppressed laughter. “Let the plea stand. Guilty as charged, but I’m knocking off the court costs. Thanks for the story, boy.”
As it happened, the $30 discount covered my gas and my insurance hike. Not so bad for a first ticket, I guess.