Whats the difference between pleading guilty and not guilty?

Question

How does it affect the trial and sentencing?

Answer 1

When you first attend Court, the matter you have been charged with will be put to you (read aloud) and you are asked "how do you plead?". If you enter a guilty plea, the matter will proceed immediately to sentencing, although there may be further adjournments for probation, psychiatric or other reports needed by the judge or magistrates to help them decide on the appropriate sentence.

If you plead not guilty, the matter then goes to trial, either by magistrates or with a full jury at Crown Court, depending on how serious the crime was and the defendent's wishes about where the trial takes place. If you are found guilty at the trial you will then be sentenced.

The cruicial issue is that pleading guilty - if early enough, not if you change your mind right before sentencing! - is a mitigating factor. This means that the judge or magistrates are required to take it into account when passing sentence, and it can result in a lesser penalty by up to 1/3. If you are found guilty instead of pleading guilty, you will get the full sentence. For this reason, when a person pleads not guilty at Crown Court, the judge checks with the barrister that the defendent has been properly advised about the consequences of being found guilty at trial.

Answer 2

If you plead guilty there will be no trial, there is usually an adjournment in the court proceedings so that pre-sentence reports can be gained if the judge wants them and a date for sentence will be set. If the judge wants to sentence there and then you usually get a lesser sentence than a not guilty plea, usually about 30% reduction, but each case is different.

If you plead not guilty a date will be set for a full trial and then the trial goes ahead as normal, if the person is then found to be guilty there is no reduction in sentence.

For example, a person, no criminal record, never been before the court, charged with drink driving (2x over the limit)
Guilty plea - 2 year ban, can be reduced if a road safety course is attended. This is only offered to guilty pleas.
Not guilty plea. 2 year ban. no reduction.

Answer 3

The quick summary of Plea at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plea provides a good general overview:

In legal terminology, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant, at arraignment or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether he is guilty or not guilty.

The concept of the plea is one of the major differences between criminal procedure under common law and procedure under the civil law system. Under common law, a plea of guilty by the defendant waives jury trial of the charged offenses and the defendant may be sentenced immediately. This produces a system under American law known as plea bargaining.

In civil law jurisdictions, there is generally no concept of a plea of guilty. A confession by the defendant is treated like any other piece of evidence, and a full confession does not prevent a full trial from occurring or relieve the plaintiff(s) from its duty of presenting a case to the trial court.

But see also the Sentencing Guidelines doc of 2005 http://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/docs/Guilty_plea_guideline.pdf, which states:

The guideline establishes clearly the basis for the reduction. This is that it is in everyone’s interest that those who are guilty of an offence indicate willingness to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity. This avoids the guilty being acquitted. It also benefits those most closely affected by the crime by sparing them the tension of a trial and the requirement to give evidence. It reduces the time spent in bringing the case to a conclusion (with all the consequential savings in public money) and shortens the time that elapses between an offence being committed and sentence being passed. The remorse of the offender or other factors, such as the assistance given to investigating authorities, will be taken into account earlier in the sentencing process as mitigation.

The guideline will apply to all criminal cases where a determinate sentence is imposed or
where a minimum term is fixed after imposing life imprisonment for an offence other than murder. Although Parliament requires a Court to have regard to the guilty plea in fixing the minimum term within the automatic life sentence imposed for murder, the nature of that offence and the sentencing framework for it is quite different and therefore the structure of reductions which we propose is also different. Part F of the guideline sets out the approach in these circumstances which is constrained by other statutory provisions which only apply to murder.

This doc provides an excellent explanation, though cases listed will need noting up to determine whether these guidelines actually became law and, if so, how the courts apply them as a practical matter.

Answer 4

Pleading guilty results in a conviction and means there is no trial. There is no need for one since you are admitting guilt. Pleading not guilty means the process continues. There may or may not be a trial at some point in the process or you can plead guilty to original charges or lesser charges (if offered by the prosecution) at almost any point up to conviction.

If you plead guilty to lesser charges than you were originally charged with it is usually with the idea that you will get a less severe sentence than if you were found guilty of the original charges. If you plead not guilty and are found guilty at trial, then your sentence can be more severe than if you plead guilty to lesser charges. It is a crap shoot.

Answer 5

If you plead guilty, there will be no trial and often you negotiate a shorter sentence with the prosecutor in exchange for the guilty plea.

If you plead not guilty, you go to trial. If you're found not guilty, you walk. If you're found guilty, you can bet the prosecutor will go for the maximum sentence they can.

Answer 6

Guilty is saying to the court that you did what you are accused off, not guilty is that you didnt do it.

In punishment terms pleading guilty is likely to give you a lesser punishment. Not guilty and you are shown to have done the offence and you are likely to get a harsher punishment (and whilst having to suffer a public trial where the prosecution and defence can bring to light all you indescretions if they are applicable to the case, and also the cost of the court).

A lawer or barrister you hire to fight your case will advise you the best course of action - even if you both know you are guilty they may advise you to plead not guilty (they are bound to do the best for you, whethere it is morally right or wrong).

You may be offered by the prosecution a lesser charge to plead guilty to - they anrt sure they can persuade the jury 100% that you did it and guilty to a lesser offence is a sort compromise for both people (you know what you are getting, and they get a conviction)

Best course of action though if you eve need to know for real is to talk to a legaly trained person

Answer 7

If you plead guilty there is no trial. A sentacning date is set.

Often times a judge will take a guilty plea into consideration and order a more lenient sentance, but not always. Also deals can be arranged with the prosecutor for a joint sentancing reccomendation and a lighter charge imposed with a lighter sentance, although the judge is not obliged to listen to the reccomendation.

Answer 8

If you plead guilty and are found to be guilty, the trail and sentencing are appropriate to the allegation committed. Alternatively, if you plead not guilty and are found to be guilty, it's the judges decision, although he/she is provided with appropriate trial terms, ultimately it is down to the appointed judicial process.

Answer 9

If you plead guilty, you are admitting under oath that you did indeed do the crime as the judge read you the charges. Pleading not guilty is just that, you are saying you DID NOT do the crime.

Answer 10

pleading guilty you don't go to trial. you have agreed to jail time or paying a fine or what have you.

if you plead innocent then you have a trial in which you can plead your case and hope that the jurors will find you innocent