What does the "no contest" plea mean?

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 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.

Like a guilty plea, a "no contest" plea waives important constitutional rights, including the right to trial by jury and to confront the witnesses against you. And unless there's some sort of agreement for a deferred adjudication, the court may sentence you on a "no contest" plea as if you pleaded guilty, and you'll have a record of conviction.

Tags: pleas criminal charge guilty contest guilt admission risk witnesses agreement