How should I plead nolo?

[1behappy23]

A few months ago i had my first accident. I was driving my friend's car (the car has insurance) and hit the rear of the car in front of me. I didnt press the brakes quick enough and was faulted for following too close. My court date is soon and I'm not sure what to do. I could have paid the citation fine online but I wanted to avoid points going on my license, so it was suggested that I go to court to ask what I can do to remove the points. Also, the other driver filed a personal injury claim, however, no one at the accident had any injuries. What are your thoughts? Should I just pay the fine online and accept the points on my license (I plan on buying my car soon, so i want to avoid high insurance premiums) or should I go to court and plead nolo/ no contest. I was told that I shouldnt plead guilty and a personal injury claim is filed by the other driver.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

A few months ago i had my first accident. I was driving my friend's car (the car has insurance) and hit the rear of the car in front of me. I didnt press the brakes quick enough and was faulted for following too close. My court date is soon and I'm not sure what to do. I could have paid the citation fine online but I wanted to avoid points going on my license, so it was suggested that I go to court to ask what I can do to remove the points. Also, the other driver filed a personal injury claim, however, no one at the accident had any injuries. What are your thoughts? Should I just pay the fine online and accept the points on my license (I plan on buying my car soon, so i want to avoid high insurance premiums) or should I go to court and plead nolo/ no contest. I was told that I shouldnt plead guilty and a personal injury claim is filed by the other driver.

Since you didn't mention what state you are in there is really no way for us to help you.

 

[adjusterjack]

Should I just pay the fine online and accept the points on my license (I plan on buying my car soon, so i want to avoid high insurance premiums) or should I go to court and plead nolo/ no contest.

Nolo/no contest is the same as pleading guilty. Nolo means you are not raising any defense to the citation so you'll be found guilty.

Whether you are guilty or not guilty of the citation has nothing to do with your insurance rates. It's hitting the car in front of you that results from your negligence. The car owner's insurance will pay the other driver for the damage to the car and any injury suffered as a result of the impact. When you buy insurance for yourself, your accident will be on record available to all insurance companies and your rates will be higher than if you didn't have the accident.

Also, the other driver filed a personal injury claim, however, no one at the accident had any injuries.

It's common for the aches and pains of soft tissue injuries (whiplash) to manifest themselves days after the impact. That nobody said "I'm hurt" at the scene of the accident is irrelevant.

 

[Zigner]

Nolo/no contest is the same as pleading guilty. Nolo means you are not raising any defense to the citation so you'll be found guilty.

Where a no-contest plea could affect things is in a later civil action. A no-contest plea won't count as a guilty plea for future civil litigation.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Where a no-contest plea could affect things is in a later civil action. A no-contest plea won't count as a guilty plea for future civil litigation.

Well, it will make it a micron harder for the other side to prove their case.

 

[Zigner]

Well, it will make it a micron harder for the other side to prove their case.

In THIS case, it won't ever get to any sort of civil litigation in the first place.

 

[FlyingRon]

Except that in some states (notably Georgia) nolo is NOT the same as pleading guilty.
You can't make general statements without knowing what state he is in.

 

[Just Blue]

Except that in some states (notably Georgia) nolo is NOT the same as pleading guilty.
You can't make general statements without knowing what state he is in.

Curiously OP came back and perused the thread but never bothered to answer Payrolls post.

 

[zddoodah]

I could have paid the citation fine online but I wanted to avoid points going on my license

Does your unidentified state not allow a person cited for a traffic violation to take traffic school?

it was suggested that I go to court to ask what I can do to remove the points.

Suggested by whom?

the other driver filed a personal injury claim

With the court? With his/her own insurer? With your insurer?

however, no one at the accident had any injuries. What are your thoughts?

Well...rather obviously, the other driver disagrees with your belief that "no one [involved in] the accident had any injuries." Equally as obviously, we have no insight into who is right.

Should I just pay the fine online and accept the points on my license (I plan on buying my car soon, so i want to avoid high insurance premiums) or should I go to court and plead nolo/ no contest.

When you rear end another car, there is virtually no viable defense. What do you expect to happen by "plead[ing] nolo/no contest"? Do you even understand what that means? Nolo contendere (literally, "I do not want to compete" and commonly translated as "no contest") is a plea to a criminal charge that, in most states, is virtually identical to a guilty plea. A defendant who pleas no contest will be convicted just as if he/she had pleaded guilty. The only difference is that, whereas a guilty plea requires that the defendant admit to the crime, a no contest plea includes no such admission. It's as if the defendant said, "I don't feel like challenging the charge and will accept the consequences, but I'm not admitting that I did it." This distinction means that the victim of the crime cannot use the plea to prove liability in a civil lawsuit arising out of the same incident.

Thus, whether you plead "guilty" or "no contest" will likely have no bearing on "points" that you get on your driving record (of course, this is subject to the laws of your unidentified state). Assuming you reported this incident to your auto liability insurer, you should contact the adjuster and discuss this issue. It may be that the insurer will prefer a "no contest" plea for the reason mentioned, but it's also possible that the insurer won't care. Of course, you could also plead "not guilty," but you don't appear to have any valid defense. Finally, if your state involves prosecuting attorneys in routine traffic matters, you could try to make a plea bargain.