No Contest v. Guilty

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Jun 5, 2006 | 01:35 PM

RangerPilot

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From: Durant, OK (SOSU)

No Contest v. Guilty

Went to sign up for defensive driving today. Had the option on the form to check No Contest or Guilty. What's the difference, and how's it stack up in the end?

RP
Zach

Jun 5, 2006 | 01:54 PM

polarbear

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From: Damascus-Boring, Ore

Did the same thing last week.

How did you plead in court? A no-contest plea followed by driving school generally means the ticket will be dismissed following successful completion of the course. In other states, a guilty plea and driving school could mean reduced points on your license- check with your individual state DMV.

Jun 5, 2006 | 01:57 PM

CowboyBilly9Mile

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From: Eastern WA

Quote:

Originally Posted by RangerPilot

Went to sign up for defensive driving today. Had the option on the form to check No Contest.....

Sounds like a derrivative of an alford plea. Means you acknowledge that the evidence, if presented in court, would be sufficient to support a conviction of the charge and you're not arguing it. So in your case, presumably if you play the game and don't get another ticket for whatever amount of time, the matter is dropped. If not, then the old ticket is probably a guilty, provided the new one sticks.

Last edited by CowboyBilly9Mile; Jun 5, 2006 at 02:00 PM.

Jun 5, 2006 | 11:48 PM

RangerPilot

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From: Durant, OK (SOSU)

Thank you both. No court required in Texas. Just show up, pay the clerk for defensive driving, she gives you the sheet, you complete it within a few months (I have til 9-4), mail everything in, they take it off your record.

I pleaded guilty, then my mom said I should always plead no contest. Thanks for that little info after the fact, mom. Oh well. As long as it's not on the record.

RP
Zach

Jun 6, 2006 | 12:02 AM

Greywolf

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From: Drummonds, TN USA

I take it "No Contest" is the same as "NOLO CONTENDRE"...

That you accept the punishment, whatever it may be, without admitting to guilt for the offence.

As far as I have known, this is used as a quick settlement in a situation where both the prosecution and defendent are in a difficult situation as regards settlement.

Under these circumstances it is to your advantage to admit nothing.

Unless you have a problem with what is true, and what is NOT.

I've always had a problem with that. I always go with what is true, because what isn't is impossible to remember over time.

Besides, I couldn't respect myself if I went any other way. I suppose in the modern age that cripples me to some extent...

And yet still I believe:
It is necessary to maintain
Common decency
No matter what it costs....
For would I not be less a man
Had I no Honor about me?

I realise this helps you very little, but still - drive well, and make the most of your class. Try to have fun! Who knows, you may learn something you never knew before...

PS: The above is not a "HIT" at you. I have been where you are standing, and then some.

Last edited by Greywolf; Jun 6, 2006 at 12:29 AM.

Jun 6, 2006 | 09:07 AM

FarmForward

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From: The Star-Club, Hamburg

For the last couple of tickets I've gotten (a speeding ticket last October, and a seatbelt ticket in 2002), I've pled "no contest" when I went to the magistrate, and made sure that "no contest" was written on my plea agreement. I ended up paying a fine in both cases, and in the 2002 case the magistrate actually refused to accept the plea and argued that I had to either plead guilty or not guilty (the county attorney convinced her that a "no contest" was sufficient). For the seatbelt ticket, I was nailed dead to rights, so I don't know why I did it that way, but for the speeding ticket, I really felt that I was not guilty, but knowing how the justice system operates around here, there was no way of getting out of paying something, so it was either a fine for the ticket or paying a huge fee for a lawyer so they could cozy up to the county attorney, and then end up paying a fine for the ticket anyway.

Jun 6, 2006 | 03:32 PM

pitrow

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From: Cornelius, Oregon

The way it was explained to me, Guilty, is of course "I did it". No Contest means that you admit you committed the act, however there are unusual circumstances that, absent which, you probably would not have committed the act. The example given was a stop sign being covered by a tree branch or the like so that you couldn't see it. If you ran it and got a ticket, then you would plead No Contest, since if the tree hadn't been there you would have seen the sign and stopped.

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Jun 6, 2006 | 03:58 PM

ag-ford-4x4

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Quote:

In both criminal and civil trials in the United States, a plea of "nolo contendere" means that the defendant neither admits nor disputes the charge. This is also called a plea of no contest or, more informally, a "nolo" plea. "Nolo contendere" is Latin and literally means "I do not wish to contend." Spiro Agnew famously approximated it as "I didn't do it, but I'll never do it again." In making such a plea, a defendant accepts that he or she may be found guilty by the court without ever admitting to the act(s) charged.

and another

Quote:

Latin for "no contest." In a criminal proceeding, a defendant may enter a plea of nolo contendere, in which he does not accept or deny responsibility for the charges but agrees to accept punishment. The plea differs from a guilty plea because it cannot be used against the defendant in another cause of action. See, e.g. Keeney v. Tamayo-Reyes, 504 U.S. 1 (1992).

That means you should mark NOLO CONTENDERE regardless of whether you know you did it or not. Mark it, take the class, and get it off your record and not worry about it coming back later. I would never admit guilt to something except where it would make my punishment less. Thats just me though.