Please rise.

The Honorable Hambi as a layer presiding.

Please have a seat.

So good evening.

Before we start, I would like to explain to you the process that will be following tonight.

Tonight's session is an arrangement session.

You're going to be asked a very simple question, and that is what plea would you like to enter.

You have three alternatives, and the first one is to enter a plea of not guilty, which means you believe you are innocent or you believe that the city cannot prove its case against you.

Now the burden of proof is on the city to prove that you're guilty, you do not have to prove that you're innocent.

Now the second alternative is the opposite.

That's to enter a plea of guilty, which means you are accepting the facts and circumstances that are stated in the citation that you have already received.

The third alternative is called a plea of no contest, which means though you think you're innocent, you're also 100% sure that should your case advance to a trial, you will be found guilty.

In essence, there are lots of evidence against you.

Now, if you enter a plea of no contest, you will be found guilty.

There's one great advantage

to

a plea of no contest in cases involving potential liability claims in civil court.

Let me explain to you too.

So we have the traffic law.

It

means that somebody is alleging that you have hurt him or hurt her or caused damage to their property.

During that proceeding, if you enter a plea of guilty, it may be used against you in such liability claims.

While on the other side, if you enter a plea or no contest, it may not be used against you.

And that happens a lot in cases involving car accidents or somebody alleging that you hurt them badly in batteries.

So if you are faced with one of those citations, in addition to entering a plea in traffic court, you probably, if somebody sue you for damages, would have to enter a plea in civil liability cases, and whatever you enter as a plea in traffic court may be used against you.

So I just like you to understand the ramification of entering a plea in this court.

Always advantageous to you in cases involving potential liability claims to enter a plea of no contest rather than a plea of guilty.

In this court, in traffic court, if you are found guilty for traffic citations, in addition to the fine that I'm going to ask you to pay, I will take from you something called demerit points.

If in one single year you accumulate 12 demerit points, your driving privilege would be suspended.

If you are here for the offense of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant, also non-drunk driving, you should know that you have the right to request a jury trial.

If you do so, the trial will be held at the Dane County Circuit Court.

It will not be held in Pittsburgh.

I would like to talk to you briefly about our philosophy in Pittsburgh.

It's our philosophy to see that justice is individualized.

What I mean by that is that I'm going to listen carefully to whatever mitigating circumstances that you may wish to share with

me.

And provided, of course, that the mitigating circumstances are truthful and believable.

I'm going to also look at your past record.

Based on those two source of information, I will come with a verdict.

It may then mean that two people faced with identical citation may have different outcome.

And this is the case in all traffic citations, with the exception of traffic citations where alcohol or drugs was a factor in the issuance of the citations.

In these cases, I do not have any willingness to compromise the verdict.

You'll pay the maximum penalty as stated in the statute.

The

same thing could be said about city ordinances, where there is a criminal code counterpart to the ordinance.

Let me explain that to you.

Now, Fitzburg have opted to adopt city ordinances that are parallel to the criminal code.

So for city Fitchburg would have a city ordinance for battery, disorderly conduct, carrying conceived concealed weapon, prostitution, issuance of worthful checks, and a lot of citations that could be stemming from a criminal conduct.

When a police officer write a citation against a citizen, alleging that the citizen have violated a penal code.

And that citizen is being prosecuted in municipal court, that citizen have got a major break.

For the outcome of a trial in municipal court is not a criminal conviction.

So if you are accused of battery in municipal court, the outcome is that I'm not gonna send you to jail, but you're gonna pay a fine.

So you got a major break.

I say all of that because I want you to know that if you are accused of one of those um penal code parallel municipal court citations, you will pay the maximum penalty as stated in the statute.

There will be no breaks in terms of how much you pay in terms of fines.

So what happened if I find you guilty?

If I find you guilty, I expect that you pay your fine tonight.

But

if you can't pay it tonight, you have to tell me why.

And I can give you time to pay it.