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No Contest Vs Guilty In Fairfax
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Multi-State
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Fairfax
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US-0018LTR
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FAQ
``No contest'' means you are not admitting guilt, but are accepting there is sufficient evidence to convict you. ``Guilty'' means you are admitting guilt. Either way, the court will sentence you for the crime.
Both an Alford plea and a no contest plea are the functional equivalents of a guilty plea. A defendant who enters an Alford plea pleads guilty but claims to be innocent. With a no contest plea, a defendant accepts punishment but doesn't admit guilt. Both kinds of plea result in convictions.
Pleading guilty means you admit that you committed the crime. Pleading no contest (“nolo contendere”) means accepting the conviction but avoiding a factual admission of guilt.
A plea of nolo contendre (latin for “I am unwilling to contest”) is a plea recognized in US law, but does not have any foundation in Canadian criminal law. It is prohibited by virtue of s. 606(1) which lists all valid pleas. A guilty plea that in substance amounts to a plea of nolo contendre will be invalid.
If you plead "nolo contendere" (no contest) you stated that while you do not wish to plead guilty you agree that the prosecutor has sufficient evidence that the court would find you guilty. This is considered the same as pleading guilty as far as the conviction is concerned.
Read more. About 95% of felony convictions in the United States are obtained by guilty pleas (and at least as many misdemeanor convictions), but only 15% of known exonerees pled guilty (261/1,702). Innocent defendants who plead guilty have an exceptionally hard time convincing anybody of their innocence. Read more.
As to whether you should plead guilty or no contest, it does not matter all that much. The court is empowered to punish you in the same way regardless. Pleading no contest has little effect on your life afterwards, though there are some reasons for people to consider it.
If you might face a civil case related to your alleged crime, a no-contest plea can help you avoid giving the plaintiff a powerful piece of evidence. On the other hand, a guilty plea might get you a better deal from the prosecution, but it's essential to weigh the potential for a civil lawsuit.
If charged with no insurance or driving with a suspense license, nolo pleas are good options. However, if this was your first offense, our Georgia Traffic Lawyers can help get first offense charges reduced to non-reportable offenses. Getting it reduced to a non-reportable offense is better than a nolo plea.
Pleading no contest is the same as pleading guilty. Its beneficial to plead no contest when there is a potential civil claim against you also so it can't be held against you. Since this is just a simple speeding ticket with no accident, it will be the same outcome.
More info
You want to try and speak with the Commonwealth's Attorney BEFORE the hearings start. They may allow you to lower it during that conversation.You may want to plead no contest if you will be sued in a civil lawsuit. In Virginia, this is more typically called a no contest plea. This has the same effect as a guilty plea. Fairfax judging for sentencing can be helped along for the defendant with a sentencing memorandum that persuasively addresses the four main goals of sentencing. Cases are filed at the Civil Division Clerk's Office, Room 211. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I also know that pleading guilty typically is the point of no return once the judge accepts the guilty plea. Pleading no contest is an alternative to a guilty or not guilty plea. But this is not the case in Virginia.
