Expert: Philip Sweeting - 9/7/2006

Question
I am taking a friend to court, he got a DUI last month when he fell asleep at the wheel and hit a bush.  He blew a .1, and in california the legal limit is .08.  He is't looking to fight this, just get it over with.  

What is the difference between pleading guilty and pleading no contest?  Is there anything he can do to better his chances of not paying an arm and a leg?  Any suggestions to help him out?

Answer
Your best bet would be to talk to a lawyer because I'm not a legal expert but that does cost money.


In any event you might contact the prosecutor and see what kind of deal you can work out. If he has never been convicted of a crime before he should try and work out a deal which would allow him to eventually have the arrest record sealed.

In other words he would plead no contest and the judge would withold adjudication.... a legal term meaning he was not found to be guilty but not innocent either. He would in all likelyhood have to pay a fine, his license would be suspended for 6 months or less and might have to attend some kind of alcohol program.

Assuming he did all of that and depending on the law in CA he might then be able to get his arrest sealed. This may not seem necessary for him now but it might be in the future.

The sealing of an arrest record is a completely seperate  issue but his ability to have the record sealed would depend on the outcome of this arrest .  

Sealing the record means he would not have to divulge the DUI arrest to any future employers....on an employment application when asked if you were ever arrested he could legally say no. There are a few exceptions...for instance law enforcement agencies can inquire into sealed arrest for employment purposes.

If you talk to the prosecutor tell them you want to plead to a deal which will eventually allow you to seal the record...but be careful...the prosecutor may not know the legal requirements for sealing a record. You should at a minimum look up the requirements for CA. You can find their laws on the Internet.They will have a statute/law dealing with sealing and expunging arrest records.

But in FL if you have never been convicted of a crime and never had a prior arrest sealed, with few exceptions, you can have an arrest sealed. That is one reason to plead no contest instead of guilty. If you plead guilty then you are convicted but if you plead no contest AND the judge witholds adjudication....but make sure the Judge witholds adjudication. If you plead no contest he could still find you guilty.  Your best bet is to talk to a lawyer but hope this helps.