Pleading Nolo in Georgia Traffic Court and DUI Cases

Can I Plead No Contest to DUI in Georgia?

No YOU CANNOT, so do not expect your DUI attorney to seek a nolo contendere Georgia plea to a DUI. A nolo plea deal is sometimes called a "no contest DUI." In terms of protecting your criminal records, it is all but useless for a DUI in Georgia. This is because the special plea to nolo contendere is based on not "contesting" the DUI in GA at trial, but also not admitting guilt on the record. Georgia's legislature has tightened the DUI laws in GA over the years, and the nolo option narrowed with them. Many old timers, familiar with the looser rule for a DUI no contest case, still search Google for the phrase, "how often can you plead nolo in Georgia?" Drivers new to all of this should start with what a DUI in GA actually involves.

Judge has Discretion on Whether to Grant a Nolo Plea

The answer is zero, or virtually zero. In the last two decades, the Georgia legislature has greatly restricted access to a nolo contendere plea for any driver's DUI offense. Only when a judge gives permission for DUI no contest, for good cause shown, and after the DUI defense lawyer files a written petition verified by the driver who is pleading to the driving under the influence charge, can this be considered. Legislative limitations and barriers have virtually rendered the plea of nolo contendere to drunk driving to be nothing more than a historic footnote, except for rare cases where motorists are facing civil liability for a DUI accident, and the Court allows it. These obstacles show the limited value of a nolo plea: for a driver under 21, Georgia law counts a nolo plea as a conviction, so the license suspension follows by operation of law even when a judge accepts the plea. DUI GA drivers with high BAC levels above a 0.15 reading, measured within three hours of driving, cannot utilize a nolo contendere plea for a Georgia DUI. If the driver was convicted of DUI, or had a nolo plea accepted on a DUI charge, within the previous five years (from date of arrest to date of arrest), nolo is not allowed in the current case. The DUI attorney of a person seeking a plea of nolo contendere must prepare and present to the Judge a verified petition showing how the nolo disposition prevents a hardship for the DUI driver. The judge can reject it, and this issue is not appealable, since the Judge is given the discretion to say "no."

Georgia's nolo plea rules for DUI spell out the mechanics behind those limits. The defense files a written petition, verified by the driver, that lays out the specific hardship. That petition must set out the facts and special circumstances that make accepting the plea in the best interest of justice, and the judge has to review the driver's Department of Driver Services record first. The judge then states the reasons for accepting the plea in the record, under seal. In practice that means a concrete, documented loss, not inconvenience or embarrassment. Even a granted petition does not wipe out the license actions that 40-6-391 requires.

Ordinary traffic court works nothing like this. A judge weighing a speeding citation has far more room to accept the plea. The charge, not the courthouse, drives the difference.

Is a Plea of Nolo Contendere of Any Value in GA?

After the many legislative restrictions and changes to Georgia DUI laws, few possible factual situations may find value in obtaining a nolo contendere disposition. Pleading no contest to DUI is rare, and Georgia judges grant it only a handful of times each year. In those few nolo contendere plea dispositions, these hardship cases have been utilized: Related civil litigation from a motor vehicle crash, where the at-fault driver seeks to plead to nolo contendere to mitigate a large civil verdict. The accused drunk driver works in some business or industry for which the regulatory rules or employment manual permit a nolo plea to salvage the accused person's job, or ability to continue in that trade or business (e.g., cosmetologist). The person facing driving under the influence may be on a deferred adjudication program from another state that may require loss of favorable deferral treatment with any "guilty plea" to a serious misdemeanor or felony.

Each scenario shares one feature: a documented loss that a guilty plea would trigger and a no contest plea might soften. After a crash, the plea may keep the criminal disposition out of the civil case as an admission of fault. A licensed professional may face a board that reads an admission of guilt far more harshly. A worker with a security clearance may face review the moment a guilty plea posts. A non-citizen should speak with an immigration lawyer first, because federal authorities usually treat a nolo plea as a conviction anyway. None of this comes on request.

Is a Nolo Plea a Conviction, and Does It Stay on Your Record?

Two questions come up more than any others: is pleading nolo contendere a conviction, and does nolo contendere go on your record? For nearly every practical purpose, the answers are yes and yes.

When the judge accepts the plea, the judge sentences you just as on a guilty plea, under the same Georgia DUI law penalties. Fines, probation, classes, jail exposure, and the other consequences of a DUI all stay on the table. The arrest, charge, plea, and sentence go to the Georgia Crime Information Center, so your Georgia criminal history shows the case along with any related criminal charges.

Georgia carves out two narrow exceptions. Under Georgia law, a nolo plea generally cannot be used against you as an admission of liability in a later civil suit. On a qualifying traffic offense, it can also keep points off your license. Neither exception touches the administrative suspension that follows a refusal or a failed test under the Georgia implied consent law.

Those exceptions do not reach a later criminal court case. A nolo disposition on a DUI still counts as a prior DUI at sentencing on a later charge. The next case is not treated as a first offense DUI, but as a second DUI offense. Employers, licensing boards, and immigration authorities treat the plea like a guilty plea.

Record restriction is the last piece. Georgia restricts records only for cases that end without a conviction. A nolo plea is a disposition, not a dismissal, so it does not clear the arrest.

With an Out-of-State License, Will a GA Nolo Contendere Plea Benefit Me?

In reviewing Westlaw cases across the United States, a limited number of other states still seem to permit some use of a plea of nolo contendere, in limited situations involving driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence, including Mississippi, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Oklahoma, California, Tennessee, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Texas, Nevada and Louisiana, so if legal counsel from one of those states verifies some value of a Georgia judge accepting a no contest plea for a DUI in GA, to avoid a "hardship," this might work. The earlier historic reference to federal regulations calling for all states to eliminate "special" dispositions like nolo contendere from its state statutes, or risk losing federal highway funds, has all but wiped out these old laws. As the push by M.A.D.D. and NHTSA (an agency within the Department of Transportation) for safer highways moved forward, the "nolo" plea was an easy target for these highway safety advocates. Subsequent legislation can neutralize any value or benefit of a plea of nolo contendere to DUI which was entered before the more restrictive new statute was enacted. In Harrison v. Commissioner, Div. of Motor Vehicles, 226 W. Va. 23 (2010), the West Virginia Supreme Court overturned two lower court rulings that blocked the WV DMV from treating a prior nolo contendere plea as a first offense DUI. The two lower court judges believed that the new law only applied prospectively, and could not retroactively eliminate the benefit the two men who were facing the same second DUI offense penalties. The nolo contendere plea for each man was counted as a first DUI offense, which caused much harsher driver's license revocation and criminal penalties.

Talk With Our Lawyers Before You Enter a Nolo Plea

If you have a Georgia traffic citation or a pending DUI charge and you are weighing a no contest plea, timing matters. Plea dates arrive fast, and courts rarely let a defendant withdraw a plea once the judge accepts it.

A free consultation with William C. Head, PC covers the practical questions. We review the citation, pull the driving history, check whether your one nolo option in five years is still open, and tell you whether the plea would help or whether a reduction to reckless driving fits better. Fighting the charge often protects the license better. Cost comes up early too, so we go over fees and attorney payment plans at that first meeting.

Atlanta DUI attorney Bubba Head has defended DUI and traffic cases in Georgia for decades, in the municipal, state, and recorder's courts of Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, and Gwinnett counties. Call 404-567-5515 to talk through your options before your court date, or email our criminal justice attorneys instead. Our attorney ratings and client reviews show how past clients describe that work, and former clients are welcome to submit a law firm client review. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

What Does Nolo Contendere Mean in Court?

Drivers who ask "what does nolo contendere mean in court" want a plain answer. Nolo contendere is Latin for "I do not contest." The defendant does not admit guilt, but also does not fight the charge. The judge then imposes a sentence just as after a guilty plea. The plea is generally not usable as an admission of fault in a later civil lawsuit.

A defendant who pleads guilty admits the charge. A not guilty plea sends the case toward trial. A nolo plea sits in between: you give up the trial without saying you did it.

Georgia treats it as a special plea. Georgia's statute governs nolo contendere pleas and their effect statewide, and nothing in it gives a defendant a right to enter one. The judge decides, not the prosecutor. In our experience with citations in metro Atlanta courtrooms, judges vary widely in how readily they accept one, and a driver who used the option within five years is usually turned down.

Pleading Nolo in GA Traffic Court for a Speeding Ticket

Pleading nolo in GA traffic court is a different question from pleading nolo to a DUI. The DUI statute closes the door in nearly every case. Ordinary traffic court leaves it open.

Drivers care because of points. The Georgia Department of Driver Services assigns points to most moving violations, and points build toward suspension. Searches like "plead nolo Georgia speeding ticket," "pleading nolo in Georgia speeding ticket," "pleading nolo for speeding ticket in GA," and "pleading nolo to a speeding ticket in GA" almost always come from the same driver: one trying to protect a license. A nolo plea to a qualifying traffic offense may keep those points off the record. A second nolo plea within five years counts as a conviction for point purposes, so in practice the option is good once every five years. Save the option for a citation that would otherwise threaten your license.

Drivers under 21 and CDL holders. Georgia treats young drivers and commercial license holders far more strictly. The plea does not carry the same protection, and federal rules bar masking a CDL holder's conviction. Expect points and license consequences to follow.

How the request works. In the municipal, state, and recorder's courts around Atlanta, your lawyer asks the judge for the nolo disposition at the plea. Fines, surcharges, and court costs still apply. The judge may refuse, and practice varies by county and courtroom.

Avoiding points is not the same as hiding the case. Insurers often find the disposition through their own record checks and may raise your premium. Whether the plea helps depends on the charge, the driving history, and the license type.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a nolo plea keep the case off a background check?

No. The arrest, charge, and disposition appear in your Georgia criminal history. Employers and licensing boards usually read the plea as a conviction.

How often can you plead nolo to a speeding ticket in Georgia?

Generally once every five years for point purposes, and only if the judge agrees. Save it for a ticket that threatens your license.

Can you plead nolo contendere to a DUI in Georgia?

Almost never. The statute bars it when the driver's alcohol concentration was more than 0.15, and when a DUI conviction or nolo plea landed within the previous five years. A driver under 21 gains nothing either, since the plea counts as a conviction for the license suspension.

Will a nolo plea protect my insurance rate?

Maybe not. Points and premiums run on separate systems. Carriers often find the disposition anyway and may still raise the rate.