ARRAIGNMENT

Your first official court appearance will be your arraignment, when the charges against you will be read and you will be asked to plead guilty, or not guilty.

A third type of response to an indictment is that of "nolo contendere" or "no contest."Nolo contendere is not strictly a plea of guilty or not guilty, it simply means that you do not contest the charges levied against you.

A plea of nolo contendere can only be used in this phase of the court process as an implied confession of the offense charged, and as an admission of the facts set forth in the indictment. This plea cannot be used in other aspects of the criminal trial as an admission of guilt.

Only if a judge feels that a no contest plea is being made voluntarily and intelligently will he or she choose to accept it.

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