Plea of Not Guilty Question?

Long story short I was arrested for Criminal Mischief 3rd Degree Class E Felony. I explained everything to the judge, that i had already paid, from jail, the damages to my wifes car (which i was arrested on one bad drunk night) etc

The Judge asked me if i wanted to plead guilty or not guilty, i said "well i did it it was dumb but the situation is being taken care of" he said "OK I'm going to enter a Not Guilty plea for you and release you from here with no bail posted"

Is this a good sign? I've never been through the court system before

2011-05-13T18:00:31Z

call him? sounds like a set up lol

evilattorney2011-05-13T19:57:59Z

No. It's not a good sign. You were hoping that the criminal charges were going to go away. They're not. You'll either be taking a plea or going to trial. I suggest you get a lawyer so you have some hope of keeping this off your record.

johnbrown2011-05-13T18:33:27Z

Looks like you're going to trial. You can ask your wife to ask the prosecutor to dismiss the charges. He/she will, or (probably) won't. Then, get a private lawyer, or a public defender.

Don't confuse a criminal case based on destruction of property (which is what it is) with a civil case for damages.

The Arbiter of common sense2011-05-13T18:24:45Z

You need a lawyer. That you fixed your wife's car is not the end of it. You should have been given a court date, I suggest you find a lawyer now to make sure you understand what is going on. Missing a court date is a VERY bad idea.

?2011-05-13T18:01:04Z

You should talk to either a private attorney or contact the public defender's office.

Hoover the GOPer2011-05-13T17:55:40Z

You should have asked the judge for a clarification.

I bet you could just call him and ask. Most judges are nice guys.