Entering a plea has nothing whatsoever to do with guilt.
Entering a plea to a charge establishes whether you would have a trial or be sentenced by a judge.
If you enter a plea of "not guilty" you are entitled to a jury - if you enter a plea of "guilty" you are not entitled to a jury - and a judge will pronounce your sentence.
It's that simple. The media tries to maintain that someone pleading "not guilty" somehow means that the person is not guilty. That's just plain gnorance!!
True enough...that was sloppy writing on my part. Even with as little knowledge of law as I have, I DO know that guilty people try to get away with "not guilty" pleas, so the plea itself does not make one guilty or not guilty. I guess I was just amazed that if the judge accepts the not guilty plea and the charges are dropped and his record is cleared (eventually), I was amazed that he would have to pay anything.