Also known as: not guilty plea · not-guilty pleas · plea of not guilty · NG plea
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A formal denial by an accused person in court of having committed the charged offense. The prosecution must then prove all elements of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt if the defendant is to be convicted.
Nora Nash pleaded not guilty at arraignment to wire fraud charges. Eleven days later her lawyer filed a written notice of intent to rely on a bipolar disorder defense but offered no explanation for the one-day delay. The court granted the prosecutor's motion to exclude all mental disease evidence because the notice missed the ten-day deadline and lacked good cause.
Neptune Energy, a corporate defendant, failed to appear at arraignment on environmental violation charges. The court entered a not guilty plea on the corporation's behalf under the rule requiring that result when a defendant organization does not appear. The case proceeded to trial on the not guilty plea.
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Neil Nair appeared without a lawyer at a regional arraignment docket on vehicle identification charges. The judge accepted his not guilty plea and required an immediate decision on waiving a preliminary hearing. Nair later challenged the proceedings, arguing the arraignment was a critical stage requiring counsel.
Naomi Norton entered a not guilty plea to homicide charges after receiving a timely insanity notice. At trial the prosecution presented evidence of planning and consciousness of guilt. The jury convicted her after finding the mental disease evidence insufficient to establish the affirmative defense.
Nicholas Nunez received a full indictment two weeks before arraignment on multiple odometer tampering counts. The prosecutor described only one representative count in detail at the hearing. After entering a not guilty plea, Nunez moved to withdraw it, claiming the arraignment failed to state the substance of each charge.
Noah Nakamura pleaded not guilty to sabotage charges and proceeded to trial. After conviction he argued on appeal that no rational trier of fact could have found the elements proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The reviewing court examined the record to determine whether the evidence supported the verdict.
The court may exclude the mental disease evidence unless the defendant shows good cause for the late filing. The rule conditions admissibility on timely written notice or a court-approved extension.
Yes. Arraignment is a critical stage once formal adversarial proceedings have begun, especially when the court accepts a plea or requires decisions such as waiving a preliminary hearing.
No. Mental disease or defect excluding responsibility is an affirmative defense. The defendant must raise it with proper notice and typically bears the burden of persuasion.
…As each of the three cases was called for trial, each defendant was arraigned, and, having the indictment read to him, entered a plea of not guilty. Whether the original arraignment and pleas were regarded as ineffective is not shown. Each of the three trials was completed within a single day. Under the Alabama statute the punishment…