Arraignment - Typical Municipal Court Advisements

Typical Recitation of Constitutional Rights Given at Arraignment

You are now in the Municipal Court of the City of Duluth.  This Court handles traffic offenses, city ordinance violations and a limited number of state law misdemeanor offenses.  Traffic offenses are misdemeanor crimes under the law of this state and typically have a maximum allowable sentence of a $1,000 fine and 12 months in jail on each count.  City ordinance violations have a maximum sentence of a $1,000 fine and 6 months in jail.  Some offenses have lesser maximum penalties and some offenses have mandatory minimum penalties.

Today is arraignment day.  Arraignment means that you are here to answer to the charges against you by entering a plea of not guilty, guilty, or nolo contendere.  There will be no trials today. 

If you enter a plea of not guilty, a trial will be scheduled for you at a later date.  By rescheduling the case for trial, both you and the prosecutor will have time to arrange for witnesses to appear for the trial.  You may need to request from the court one or more subpoenas to assure the attendance of your witnesses.   If you enter a guilty plea or a nolo contendere plea today, you will receive your sentence today.  No witnesses are needed for a guilty plea or nolo contendere plea to be entered. 

The usual sentence in this Court is the payment of a fine.  However, depending on the offense with which you are charged, along with your prior driving or criminal record, you could be sentenced to probation, community service, driving school, alcohol/drug programs, or even jail time.

State law requires this court to collect a surcharge on each fine on each offense for which you either plead guilty or nolo contendere, except for some seat belt violations.  Therefore, the total amount you may have to pay will include not only the fine amount, but some surcharges, which are not kept by the City.  If you are sentenced to probation, you will have to pay monthly probation service fees in addition to fines and surcharges required by law.  These fees cover the cost of your supervision, to assure that the Court’s orders are followed.

A guilty plea means that you are admitting to committing the offense you have been charged with.  If you plead nolo contendere, or no contest, you are simply not contesting the charges against you as opposed to admitting them, although nolo contendere pleas are considered to be convictions for many purposes.

The sentence for a nolo contendere plea can be the same as for a guilty plea and most nolo contendere pleas that are entered to traffic and other criminal offenses are reported on your driving or criminal histories.  Under some circumstances, a nolo contendere plea may prevent the suspension of your driver’s license so long as it is a first offense on your record.  For example, if you are charged with failure to have car insurance, racing, fleeing and attempting to elude, hit and run, driving on a suspended license, or possession of marijuana, your license will be suspended if you plead guilty or if you are found guilty at trial.  A nolo plea may prevent these suspensions.  However, you need to be aware that there are certain offenses that will suspend your license even if you offer to enter a nolo contendere plea.  Some of these mandatory license suspension offenses include a 2^nd offense within the previous 5 years on any of the charges I just named.  Also, a suspension will occur for any guilty or nolo contendere plea on a driving under the influence charge for drivers of any age. 

If you are under 21 years of age at the time of conviction, a nolo contendere plea will not help you retain your license.  If you face charges of hit and run, leaving the scene of an accident, racing, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, reckless driving, purchasing or misrepresenting your age or identity to purchase an alcoholic beverage, DUI, or any offense for which 4 or more points are assessed against your driving record, a conviction for these offenses will cause the suspension of your license even if you enter a nolo contendere plea.  Therefore, speeding more than 24 miles per hour or more over the speed limit will result in the suspension of your driver’s license if you are under age 21 when you enter your plea or are found guilty.

Also, if you are under 18 years of age and if you accumulate a total of 4 or more points in any consecutive 12-month period (based on dates of being cited or arrested), your driver’s license will be suspended.  A nolo contendere plea will not prevent a suspension for such drivers. 

 Please keep in mind that a nolo contendere plea does not have to be accepted by the court.  The factors of each case will be reviewed by the Court before a decision on acceptance of a nolo contendere plea is decided.

The Municipal Court Clerk is required to report most matters involving traffic offenses to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, which then adds the violation to your driving record.  Whether or not points are added is up to the Department of Driver Services, and not the Court.  If you are licensed in another state, the Georgia Department of Driver Services is required to notify your state licensing department of any convictions or nolo contendere pleas that are entered against you in Georgia.  Also, whether or not your driver’s license is suspended or revoked or your privilege to drive in this or another state is suspended or revoked is up to the Department of Driver Services, subject to your right of appeal, and not the Court.  In some situations, the law requires the Court to confiscate your driver’s license for surrender to the Georgia Department of Driver Services. 

In most cases, it is not necessary that you receive formal written notice that your license is being suspended in order for it to be a valid suspension.  With certain offenses, such as DUI, you are presumed by law to know that your driver’s license or privilege to operate within this state will be suspended if convicted.  Typically, your driver’s license will not be automatically returned to you after a period of suspension has ended.  You must apply to the Department of Driver Services for its return, pay any reinstatement fee, and provide whatever documents the Department may require, such as proof of insurance, or a certificate showing completion of a driving school before the suspension is officially over.  If your license is suspended or revoked, do not drive again until the State of Georgia has given written permission for you to do so, or you could face a new offense that mandates a jail sentence.

This Municipal Court is a court with criminal jurisdiction, and therefore it does not determine who is at fault for a traffic accident as in a civil lawsuit.  That is a civil matter for a court with civil jurisdiction to consider. 

 If you wish to contest the pending charges against you, you will need to plead not guilty and return another day for trial.  The Court will reset the trial date for you.  However, if you opt for trial here, your case will be decided by the Court, which means that I will decide guilt or innocence.  This court does not have jury trial jurisdiction.

 If you are charged with an offense for which a jury trial is available, you may request that your case be transferred to the State Court of Gwinnett County.  The State Courts of this state have jury trial authority in misdemeanor cases.  When your case is called, please advise if you wish for your case to be transferred for trial by jury. 

            In this Court, you have certain guaranteed rights:

1.            You have the right to a speedy trial by jury. However, in most cases charging city ordinance violations, there is no right to a jury trial.

2.            You are presumed to be innocent when you go to trial on criminal charges.

3.            The case against you must be proven by the Prosecutor beyond a reasonable doubt.

4.            You have the right to confront the witnesses against you and ask them questions.

5.            You have the right to compel witnesses to appear in court by subpoena.

6.            You have the right to produce witnesses on your behalf and have witnesses produce exhibits such as pictures or drawings, all of which may be admitted at trial, subject to the rules of evidence.  

7.            You may testify yourself if you wish to, but you cannot be forced to.  If you choose to not testify, no harmful inference will occur by virtue of you exercising the right to remain silent.

8.            If you are not a United States citizen, the law of Georgia requires the Court to inform you that what happens in this Court could affect your immigration status.

9.            Everyone has the right to be represented by an attorney, either one hired by you or appointed to represent you by the court, if you legally qualify for one.  If you are legally indigent and if the offense with which you are charged meets the legal standards requiring appointed counsel, the court will appoint you an attorney if you request an attorney and if you complete (under oath) an application form.  State law may require that you pay an application fee that is non-refundable.  You may make a request for an appointed attorney when your name is called, if this is your desire.

10.          If you are dissatisfied with the judgment of this Court after a trial, you may appeal that decision to the Superior Court of Gwinnett County within 30 days if it involves a traffic violation.  If you are found guilty by this Court of any offense other than a traffic offense, you may challenge that conviction by filing a petition for a writ of certiorari in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County within 30 days of the judgment of this Court.  To pursue an appeal, you will need a record of what transpired at trial, and this will require that you arrange to have a state certified court reporter take down a verbatim (word-for-word) account the evidence.

You have the right to have a lawyer represent you in all court proceedings, including a trial.  If you represent yourself at a trial or at any other court proceeding, you will be held to the same standards as a lawyer.  Lawyers have been trained in the rules of law and evidence and if you represent yourself and handle your own defense, you may not understand the rules used in court. 

Certain defenses, legal motions and legal objections may be available to you in your case.  A lawyer may know to assert such matters on your behalf, including when and how to raise these issues.  An example of such defenses can be defects in the citation or accusation, misidentification, issues relating to exclusion of some of the State’s evidence, alibi, or similar defenses.  Even though you are entitled to be presumed innocent, you may not know enough about criminal procedure or evidence laws to properly raise these defenses at the correct time or at some other court hearing.

At a trial or some other court hearing or proceeding connected with this case, you may wish to call witnesses to testify.  You may wish to question any witnesses who testify for the prosecution and you may not know how to do this properly.  During trial, by making objections, you will properly preserve all issues that could be used in any appeal that you may seek. While a lawyer may know how to do this, you may not.

The decision to testify in a criminal trial is a critical one that someone representing himself or herself will have to make without the advice and expertise of a lawyer.  Your decision about whether to waive your right to a jury trial is also a critical decision that you will have to make without the benefit of a lawyer’s training and advice, if you represent yourself. 

For those of you that are placed on probation, the City has contracted with a private probation company to oversee probation.  You will meet with a probation official following your sentencing.  While on probation, you are expected to abide by the terms and conditions of probation, including payment of fines and surcharges, completion of any court-ordered programs, performance of required service hours, and any monthly probation fees as may be assessed. 

 Each one of you was given a waiver of rights form when you checked in today.  If you have legal counsel, he or she will direct you on how to complete the form.  If you intend to plead guilty or nolo contendere today, you must read, understand and sign that document and bring it with you when your case is called by the Court.  If you want to request a trial, either here at this Court or at a jury trial in Gwinnett County State Court, the waiver of rights form is not needed for such situations.

You have the option to speak with the Solicitor, who is the prosecuting attorney, about your case before your case is called by the Court.  However, you must understand that the prosecuting attorney represents the City and not you.  The Solicitor’s job is to prosecute you.  Be aware that what you say to the prosecuting attorney may be used against you if you seek a trial in your case. You should not reveal damaging or incriminatory information if you ask for a meeting with the prosecuting attorney, because the solicitor can add these admissions to the existing evidence against you.  When the Solicitor calls your name, please let him or her know if you want to discuss the sentence that the solicitor would recommend if you enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to one or more pending charges.  The Solicitor may also discuss a possible resolution of your case with you, but is not obligated to drop or reduce charges merely to resolve your case here.  

When your name is called by the Court, please come forward and when asked to do so, state your intention to plead Not Guilty, Guilty, Nolo Contendere, or make some other announcement, such as a request for a continuance or for an application for a court appointed attorney.