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by F Dubya on May 31st, 2005

F Dubya

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What does it mean when someone pleads "no contest"?

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  • by ggonnigan on June 3rd, 2005

    ggonnigan

    A plea of No Contest is a defendant’s court plea that he/she will not dispute the charge of a particular crime, also called nolo contendere. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt for the crime’s commission, but the judge will treat the plea as such and proceed to find the defendant guilty as charged. In cases that involve a potential lawsuit for damages by someone who was injured by criminal conduct, a no contest plea will be issued because it cannot be used as an admission of fault in the civil lawsuit. In situations where a “plea bargain” has been reached, a no contest plea will be entered because the defendant does not want to admit guilt but agrees to the sentence that the prosecutor recommended in exchange for not disputing the charge. As a result, the charge is often reduced to a lesser crime.

    Reference Link:

    http://www.legal-explanations.com/definitions/no-contest.htm

    Comments

    • interesting :-)

      Lucas_

      by Lucas_ on June 4th, 2005

    • Good answer

      Merry Walker

      by Merry Walker on June 6th, 2005

    • wow thxs ggonnigan! our d.a. just told me today there attorney is having his client plea no contest the day of the trial. but she didn't mention anything about reducing the charges to a lesser crime. is that always the case? and "does cannot be used as admission of fault" mean i will not be able to sue them later in a civil lawsuit for all the medical, who know's how much physcological pain my daughter, the selling of my home, the damage it has done to my entire family, the pain & suffering? is this what i am to understand if we accept his attorney's plea? thank u very much in advance for any advice u can give me...ps. trial is june 18, 2008

      concernedmotherof3

      by concernedmotherof3 on June 11th, 2008

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