Your Georgia DUI or Atlanta DUI is finally over.  You won or lost.  The Judge entered some disposition on the record.  What does it mean?  Guilty, Not Guilty.  Those are the easy ones that mean you lost or you won.  What is a Nolle Pros, a Dead Docket, Nolo Contendre, or First Offender?   A "Nolle Pros" or nolle prosequi is just latin for "no prosecution."  This is basically a dismissal with leave to refile an accusation or an indictment on the criminal charge at any time within the statute of limitations which is two years for misdemeanors or DUI cases.   A Dead Docket is a legal fiction where a case is basically dismissed and put on a case docket that is dead or is never called for trial.  It is neither a conviction nor an acquittal.  

  Georgia Courts have described it as follows: "Dead-docketing has been characterized as a
case is still pending which can be called for trial at the judge'sprocedural device by which "the prosecution is postponed indefinitely but may be reinstated any time at the pleasure of the court." [Cit.]"Placing a case upon the dead docket certainly constitutes neither a dismissal nor a termination of the prosecution in the accused's favor. A pleasure, or upon which the accused can make a demand for trial."   State v. Creel, 216 Ga. App. 394, 395 (454 S.E.2d 804) (1995). See also Freeman v. State, 264 Ga. 27 (440 S.E.2d 181) (1994) (where a murder charge wasplaced on the dead docket in return for a statement and testimonyagainst another defendant); and State v. Marcus, 206 Ga. App. 385 (425S.E.2d 351) (1992) (where a case was removed from the dead docket andreturned to active status)."

Georgia Courts have also held that a Dead Docket over objection by the Defendant or accused is prohibited. The United States Supreme Court has declared entry of the nolle prosequi "with leave" over defendant's objection to be unconstitutional ( Klopfer v. North Carolina, 386 U.S.213 (87 SC 988, 18 LE2d 1)). Georgia Courts have followed this decision and found that a trial court here abused its discretion when it placed the case on the dead docket over defendant's objection.  Beam v. State, 265 Ga. 853, 855 (1995).

"Nolo" or nolo contendre is just latin for no prosecution.  It means that you are neither pleading guilty nor innocent but merely not contesting the charge and accepting the punishment.  It is the same as a guilty plea except it can not be used against you as an admission in a subsequent civil suit.  Prior to 1997, a "nolo" would prevent a license suspension but the legislature rewrote the statute to make a "nolo" a conviction for driver's license suspension purposes.  

First Offender is a resolution allowed by law  wherein a Defendant pleads guilty but the charge is held in abeyance and if probation is sucessfully completed the charge is dismissed at the end of probation.  It is not a conviction.  However, if you violate probation the Court can bring you back and sentence you to the maximum sentence allowed by law as if you had never completed any portion of the probation period.   This is known as the bad side to first offender probation. 

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