PT2M31S
“But there's a number of reasons why you should not enter not guilty plea the first day you go to court. Number one, you don't have to. It's still America. You are still innocent until proven guilty. So, you are already considered not guilty when you go to court. Anytime you go in pre-sentencing, you are seen or you should be seen as not guilty because it is your right to be treated as not guilty because you have not been sentenced or taken a plea. So, you don't have to actually formally assert that you're not guilty. It is presumed under the US Constitution.”
“Secondly, when you actually enter a not guilty plea, that triggers a formal process because when you enter a not guilty plea, that then we call it in legal kind of jargon, it sets the speedy clock ticking. So, you have 6 months from the date of entering a not-uilty plea to have your case tried in a county court or at a state level court. If you go in the very first time, let's say you have a DUI charge and you go the first time to court without a lawyer, which I highly, highly recommend you do not do.”
“But if you go to court, the first thing you're going to do is not say, "I'm not guilty." Because if you enter a not guilty plea at that time, you don't have any of the information. You don't have any of the discovery, the police reports, the body cam, any of that. And then that speedy clock starts ticking. You've only got six months to have your case tried.”
“So, the short answer is no. You do not enter a not-uilty plea the first time you go to court. You have to go through a process where you're actually reviewing what the state's evidence is against you. Your attorney will advise you as to the pros and cons of formally entering that not-uilty plea, and it ultimately will always be your decision to do so.”
“But you are presumed innocent until you either go to court and are convicted or you take a plea or you go to trial and are convicted. But you are presumed innocent. In other words, you are not guilty until you take a plea of guilty or are sentenced as being guilty. So you don't have to formally enter a not-uilty plea until you're ready to start that speedy trial clock.”
“you go the first time to court without a lawyer, which I highly, highly recommend you do not do. But let's say you do it, um, then call us and we'll fix it.”