Generally speaking, if you choose to dispute your traffic citation rather than just paying the fine, you must appear in court and enter a plea of "not guilty. Therefore, it is generally best to plead "no contest," which means that you are guilty, but your plea cannot be used against you in other court proceedings.They probably have a program where you can do a plea in abeyance and complete an online traffic school and dismiss it. If you plead guilty or no contest, you may be sentenced immediately or you can ask the court to delay sentencing for at least two days. A plea of "no contest" has a similar effect as a guilty plea in a criminal case in that the court then has the discretion to sentence the defendant. Generally, choosing to contest the traffic citation as opposed to paying the fine means the accused motorist has to appear in court to plead "not guilty". A plea in abeyance means that you plead "guilty" or "no contest" to the charges against you in court. If you plead guilty or no contest, you have the right to be sentenced in not less than two days and not more than 45 days. If you decide to cancel (withdraw) your plea, you need to submit a request to do so within 30 days of pleading guilty or no contest. A plea of "no contest" has a similar effect as a guilty plea in a criminal case in that the court then has the discretion to sentence the defendant.
