If an adult defendant delivers a plea to the court on or before his or her scheduled appearance date, the court must dispose of the case without requiring a court appearance.

• A. False
• B. The court may still require an appearance
• C. True
• D. Only if the plea is guilty

Answer: (C)

When a defendant files a guilty or no contest plea to the court before the scheduled appearance date, the court can enter judgment and sentence the case without requiring the defendant to appear in person. This pre-appearance disposition streamlines the process for cases that don’t need an in-court trial and saves time for both the court and the defendant.

This is why the statement is true: the court’s ability to dispose of the case arises from accepting a pre-appearance plea (typically guilty or no contest) and issuing a final disposition without an in-person appearance. If the plea is not guilty, or if the case requires a trial or additional proceedings, an appearance would still be necessary. The option that restricts disposal to only guilty pleas ignores the role of a no contest plea, which can also lead to disposition without appearance.