What does it mean to plead guilty?
You can only be convicted of an offence in one of two ways: first, by pleading guilty; or second, by being found guilty following a trial.
Pleading guilty to an offence means that you accept you have committed that offence. Once you plead guilty you are convicted of the offence. For this reason, following a guilty plea there is no need for a trial and the court will proceed to sentence, either immediately or at a later hearing.
You should not plead guilty unless you know precisely what it is you are pleading guilty to. Some offences are technical in nature and it is important to receive legal advice before making that decision. Similarly, you may think you are guilty, when actually you have a defence available to the charge, such as self-defence.
If you do not accept that you are guilty of the offence, then you should plead Not Guilty. This means that your case will then go to trial where the prosecution will seek to prove that you are guilty.
Go to the sections on magistrates’ court trial and Crown Court trial to know exactly what to expect during the trial process.
To find out whether your trial will take place in the magistrates’ or Crown Court, see Which court will I go to? >>
Sometimes you may accept that you are guilty of an offence, but not accept the facts of the offence as put forward by the prosecution. When this happens you can plead guilty on a particular factual basis.
