Get connected, Fitchburg.

Sign up for Fitchburg Connect, the city's monthly e-newsletter that keeps you informed about all the events, services, and updates that matter to you.

Get it in your inbox once a month.

Sign up today to get Fitchburg Connect.

Hi,

I'm Jeremy Crosby.

And I'm Nick Bouchet.

We're

your host for the program that's all about your city, Talking Pittsburgh.

Every weekday, we pull together the news, events, and information you need to stay on top of what's happening in the city of Pittsburgh.

Find Talking

Fitzburg on Cable TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and our live stream on the web.

Plus, you can find all our headlines and stories on Facebook, YouTube, and our video on demand service.

This is your city.

Keep up with Talking Fitchburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors.

Please rise.

The Honorable Omni Yesalair presiding.

And 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?

Now we 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.

The burden of proof is on the city to prove that you are guilty.

You don't have to prove that you're innocent.

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 a bit tricky, and let me explain it to you.

It's called the plea of no contest.

Now,

a plea of no contest is like this.

You think you're innocent, but there are lots of evidence against you.

And should your case goes to trial, you believe that you will end up being found guilty.

If

you enter a plea of no contest, you'll be found guilty.

However, there's one advantage to a plea of no contest, and that's in cases involving potential liability claims in civil court.

So there is the violation, the traffic violation on one side, which is under a penal code or traffic code, and there is a civil liability when somebody said you hurt me or you injured me, and I'm gonna take you to civil court to get some money from you to compensate me for the damage that you have caused

me.

Now, in this kind of civil court proceeding, if you enter a plea of guilty, it may be used against you.

If

you enter a plea of no contest, it may not be used against you.

If you have been involved in an accident or worried that somebody's gonna sue you for damages and contemplating entering a plea of guilty, my advice to you is to enter a plea of no contest instead.

Now, most of you are here for alleged traffic citations.

You should understand if found guilty in the state of Wisconsin, in addition to the fine that I'm gonna 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 will be revoked.

If you are here for the offense of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant, also known 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 Fitchburg.

Let me briefly talk to you a little bit about our philosophy in Fitchburg.

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

What I mean by that is that I'm gonna give you time to explain to you to me any mitigating circumstances that you may wish to share with me.

Now you don't have to tell me anything.

You don't have to talk to me at all.

All that you have to say, guilty or not guilty.

But if you want to talk to me, I would let you do that, provided that what you tell me is believable and truthful.

I'm gonna also look at your past record.

Right in front of me, just about every contact you may have had with the police in in your life.

And based on those two variables, I will come with a verdict.

Usually for first offenders or for people who don't have lengthy record, I might give you a break.

And it could be a reduction in point, or it could be uh a reduction in the fine itself.