By Brinda Kalita
MODESTO, CA – A man ended up pleading no contest to domestic violence charges as, he said, a way to “get the whole court process over with” Friday here in the Stanislaus County Superior Court.
Judge Carrie Stephens asked the usual procedural questions after accepting a plea of no contest: she asked if the accused was aware of the repercussions taking the no contest plea would have to his immigration status and asked if he had any more questions before entering the no contest plea.
However, the accused admitted he still had a lot of questions about the legal process, but did not feel like he had enough time to talk to his attorney properly about the matters of his case.
“This is a lot to handle for me,” the accused said when Judge Stephens asked about why he did not feel that he had an adequate understanding of taking a plea with no contest.
Judge Stephens then allowed the accused to have a couple more minutes more to talk to his attorney about the matters of his plea. However, she emphasized that she could not give him any more time other than a couple of minutes.
After a quick break, Judge Stephens continued with the many procedural matters related to delivering a verdict, such as if the accused was all right with giving up his constitutional rights. The accused simply replied, “That’s something I have to do, right?”
The accused then stressed how he just wants to get things over with in order to be able to see his kids again.
Judge Stephens then replied that those were not matters that they would be handling today, but that she could at least make an order that would allow at least some form of contact.
After hearing Judge Stephen’s response, the accused admitted that this whole process really made him “seem like a bad guy.”
Judge Stephens then assured the accused that they were not trying to assess his character. However, she reminded him that because he accepted the plea bargain, the repercussions behind this plea are simply just facts of the matter.
After hearing this response, the accused then admitted he understood what the judge was trying to do, noting, “I understand that this is your job. I will just sit here…I don’t want to make a joke out of this, I’ll take the deal and get this over with.”
Judge Stephens then accepted his plea of no contest, and set a sentencing hearing for May 1.
