(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Stephen Baldwin has pleaded guilty to driving without a licence.

The 46-year-old actor issued the plea at Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday.

He was ordered to pay a $75 fine and an $80 surcharge.

Stephen, the younger brother of 30 Rock star Alec, was stopped by police on August 24 in New York City's Harlem neighbourhood.

He was handcuffed and taken to the local precinct, where he was ticketed for driving on a suspended licence.

He was permitted on Monday to plead guilty to a less serious infraction, his lawyer told local newspaper the New York Daily News.

But the Bio Dome star doesn't harbour any ill feelings toward officers of the law.

Baldwin, who was driving his daughter home from ballet class at the time of the traffic stop, called the experience a "blessing in disguise".

"I was able to explain to my daughter, who was very upset, that the NYPD usually deal with bad people," he said.

"I have nothing but respect for the men and women in uniform and I got to share that with her." (C) Cover Media