There are two types of pleas: guilty and not guilty.
It’s more common to plead guilty, especially if the prosecution has offered you a plea bargain in exchange. A plea bargain may reduce your penalties or lower your charges to a less severe crime (for example, a “wet reckless” plea bargain lowers a DUI to reckless driving, which has lower minimum penalties).
But here’s the caveat: it may be more common, but that doesn’t mean that a plea bargain is always your best option.
Prosecutors offer plea bargains because securing a fast conviction makes their job easier. It’s in their best interest to avoid the effort of going to trial, but that doesn’t mean it’s in yours.
Few lawyers are willing to take DUI cases all the way to trial and fight about every detail in court, but it’s worth it to hire ones who do. Pleading not guilty is the only option that makes it possible to keep your record clean. A criminal record lasts a lifetime and makes it harder to secure employment, travel freely, rent apartments, or maintain custody of your children. If you really want to leave this behind you, it’s worth it to fight for a complete acquittal of your charges.
