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  • No Contest Plea vs. Guilty Plea Revisited

    12/30/20112:08:27 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    accident, attorney, car accident, civil, claim, Criminal Defense, criminal law, criminal procedure, guilty plea, no contest

     

    We have discussed this topic before; however, lately our office has received multiple emails on the subject so we are going to revisit it.

    In a criminal case there are typically four options for the defendant when entering their plea to the charges in the information filed by the prosecution: (1) Not Guilty, (2) Guilty, (3) No Contest and (4) Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.

    The Not Guilty plea is pretty self explanatory; if you plead not guilty you are saying you did not commit the criminal offenses alleged and that you wish to have your case heard at trial.

    The Guilty plea is also pretty straight forward.  If you plead guilty, you are stating that you are guilty of the offenses charged; that you do not wish to have your case heard by a judge or jury at trial; and that you are ready to receive your punishment.

    The No Contest or Nolo Contendere plea is where most people get confused.  A No Contest plea is treated the same as a Guilty plea for purposes of sentencing.  In other words, if you plead No Contest, the judge will treat you as if you have pled Guilty.  The only difference is that a No Contest Plea cannot be used against you in a separate proceeding, such as a civil lawsuit based on the same set of facts.  You most often see No Contest pleas when there is an issue of restitution in the case, such as damage to property, payment of medical bills, etc. 

    For example, if someone is charged with Willful Reckless Driving, and there was a car accident that resulted from the alleged criminal conduct, the person is not only facing criminal prosecution for the driving offense, but also potential civil liability from the person(s) who was/were harmed (i.e. the person they hit might sue them for money).  This is where the individual’s criminal defense lawyer will advise their client to plead No Contest instead of Guilty, if a plea agreement is reached.  The reason is that later on if their client is sued by the injured party who was hit during the accident, the injured party will not be able to use the No Contest plea against the individual they are suing for damages.

     

     

  • What is the difference between a No Contest Plea and a Guilty Plea?

    1/26/20118:15:22 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    car accident, civil, criminal, Criminal Defense Lawyer, criminal procedure, guilty plea, no contest

    Most people truly do not understand the difference between a guilty plea and a no contest plea.  The biggest difference has to do with civil liability.  A Guilty Plea to a criminal charge can be used against you in a civil proceeding later on down the road, whereas a No Contest Plea cannot.  For instance, if you throw a brick through a person’s window, you will be criminally prosecuted for Damage to Property or Criminal Mischief.  At the same time, the person who owns the window may sue you civilly requesting payment for the damage you caused to their window.  If you plead no contest in criminal court, the person with the broken window will have to put on evidence in the civil case proving that you broke the window and cannot use the criminal case against you in court.  If you plead guilty in criminal court, the person with the broken window can use the guilty plea against you in the civil lawsuit to prove liability.  If you plan on entering a plea in accordance with a plea agreement in a criminal case, and you are charged with a criminal offense that could eventually lead to a civil lawsuit (i.e. assault, damage to property, car accident, theft, embezzlement, etc.), you will want to enter a plea of no contest instead of guilty whenever possible.

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