What does the “no contest” plea mean?
A. There are three possible pleas to a criminal charge: guilty, not guilty and “nolo contendere” or “no contest.” A plea of “no contest” means you don’t contest the charges against you. While a “no contest” plea isn’t an admission of guilt, it does allow the court to impose a sentence on you. In practical effect, there’s no significant difference between a “no contest” plea and a guilty plea. Why would you want to plead “no contest” instead of “guilty?” If you don’t agree that you’re guilty, but you believe a judge or jury might find you guilty anyway, you may not want to risk going to trial. In this situation, you may want to agree to an arrangement by which you’re allowed to plead “no contest” to the charge, or to a lesser charge, because it’ll resolve the case without a trial and won’t require you to admit your guilt to criminal acts. Like a guilty plea, a “no contest” plea waives important constitutional rights, including the right to trial by jury and to confront the witnesses aga
There are three possible pleas to a criminal charge- guilty, not guilty and “nolo contendere” or “no contest.” A plea of “no contest” means you don’t contest the charges against you. While a “no contest” plea isn’t an admission of guilt, it does allow the court to impose a sentence on you. In practical effect, there’s no significant difference between a “no contest” plea and a guilty plea. Why would you want to plead “no contest” instead of “guilty?” If you don’t agree that you’re guilty, but you believe a judge or jury might find you guilty anyway, you may not want to risk going to trial. In this situation, you may want to agree to an arrangement by which you’re allowed to plead “no contest” to the charge, or to a lesser charge, because it’ll resolve the case without a trial and won’t require you to admit your guilt to criminal acts. Like a guilty plea, a “no contest” plea waives important constitutional rights, including the right to trial by jury and to confront the witnesses agains
