Legal Question in Administrative Law in Colorado

Re: What happened to the plea of innocent?

There is no plea of "innocent" in the law, and there never has been. The correct term for a plea of avoidance is "not guilty." The term "innocent" was coined by the newspapers because it is so easy to drop the "not" in "not guilty," and they wish to avoid being sued. "Not guilty" is a legal concept; "innocent" is a moral concept. One can be found not guilty and not be innocent.