What does a plea of no contest mean?
A plea of “NOLO CONTENDERE” or “no contest” has the same legal effect as a plea of guilty in a criminal court. A defendant may not wish to plea guilty because there may be some civil liability as a consequence, yet they do not want to go to trial on the criminal case. A plea of no contest to a misdemeanor cannot be used as an admission in a civil action.
A plea of no contest means that you are stating that you do not dispute the facts set forth in the traffic citation. At this time, you will be allowed to offer an explanation of the incident before the judge decides punishment. More often than not, the judge will probably find you guilty. Note that pleading no contest can be used against you in a subsequent civil case, because the burden of proof in civil cases is different than it is in criminal cases.
