What is a No Contest Plea?
An individual charged with a felony or misdemeanor will have to plea no contest, guilty, not guilty, or stand mute. A defendant who pleads “no contest” is found guilty by the judge but does not have to admit the crime specifically.
A No Contest Plea Has Advantages and Disadvantages
When a person is charged with a crime, they face several options to resolve the case. If a defendant decides to take responsibility for a crime, they can enter a guilty or no contest plea. A nolo contendere or “no contest” plea is treated as a guilty plea, even though it is not an admission of guilt. A defendant who pleads guilty can benefit from arguing that they’ve “taken responsibility” when seeing a lenient sentence; however, there are situations where an admission of guilt is not in a defendant’s best interest.
Why plead no contest? Why not just plead guilty?
Lack of Memory and Ability to Make a Factual Basis
Often, drugs or alcohol are involved in a criminal case, and the defendant doesn’t have any memory or an accurate memory of what they did. These people want to admit wrongdoing and get it over with, but they really can’t remember what happened, and they are not allowed to make it up for the sake of convenience. With a guilty plea, the court must establish that there is a knowing and voluntary admission of guilt. A defendant must articulate how they committed a crime when pleading guilty. If a defendant cannot admit facts sufficient for a guilty plea, a no-contest plea is an alternative for resolving a case without a trial.
Potential Civil Lawsuits
In criminal cases, someone is frequently physically injured, or property is stolen or damaged. A crime victim can file a civil lawsuit against the defendant in these cases. A no contest plea permits a court to enter a judgment of guilt without the defendant making admissions that can be later used as evidence in a lawsuit.
A no contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea as far as criminal records and sentences are concerned, but the defendant does not have to say in their own words what they did. Therefore, a victim can use the defendant’s admissions in a civil case.
Avoiding Embarrassment and Discomfort
Another benefit of resolving a case with a plea is that no “dirty laundry” will be aired for the public to see. Embarrassing, socially unacceptable, or lurid behavior of the defendant will not be available to the local media. The judge will rely on the allegations and evidence in a police report or other evidence to accept the no contest plea and spare the defendant possibly life-ruining publicity.
Pleading No Contest is Not a Right.
The judge must approve a no contest plea. A judge can accept a no contest plea to an original charge despite an objection from the prosecutor. However, a plea bargain to a reduced charge can be conditioned on a guilty plea. A defendant might be unable to plead guilty because of a lack of memory. In other cases, it might be unwise to plead guilty because of a pending or potential civil lawsuit. In these cases, the parties might not be able to agree upon a plea bargain conditioned on a guilty plea.
How can a retained lawyer help with a no contest plea?
In some cases, it can be challenging to persuade a judge to accept a no contest plea. In other cases, the prosecutor might have to be convinced to offer a plea bargain without the necessity of a guilty plea. Inexperienced or inferior lawyers may have little hope of negotiating an advantageous plea bargain. If a no contest plea is in the defendant’s best interest, it can take a retained lawyer that is savvy and experienced to negotiate a favorable resolution.
The Firm that Has Your Back
It is imperative to retain an experienced defense attorney to arrange any plea deal, including a no contest plea. The experienced defense attorneys with LEWIS & DICKSTEIN, P.L.L.C. know how to convincingly articulate why a no contest plea should be allowed. There are times when the evidence is so overwhelming that it would be foolhardy to take a case to trial without trying to arrange an acceptable plea-based resolution. Our attorneys will do whatever it takes to negotiate a resolution with a no contest plea if it is in our client’s best interest.
Call us today at (248) 263-6800 for a free consultation or complete a Request for Assistance Form. We will contact you promptly and find a way to help you.
We will find a way to help you and, most importantly,
we are not afraid to win!
