When someone is charged with a crime and enters a plea in court, they generally have three options:

• Guilty
• Not guilty
• No contest (also known as nolo contendere)

A “no contest” plea means the defendant does not admit guilt but also does not dispute the charge. Essentially, they are saying, “I’m not going to fight this, but I’m not saying I did it.”

In criminal court, the judge treats a no-contest plea the same as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes. The defendant is convicted and punished as if they admitted guilt. One of the main reasons a defendant might choose to plead no contest is to avoid admitting fault that could be used against them in a related civil lawsuit. For example, someone charged with assault may plead no contest to avoid having that plea used as evidence in a personal injury suit later.

What Doesn’t Work: Picture this: You’ve just been issued a parking ticket and you’ve decided not to dispute it—but you want to seem deep and mysterious in court, so you plead “no contest.” Pleading this way doesn’t change much: You still pay the fine, but you’ve managed to confuse everyone for no reason.

What Works:

Knowing when you should plead “no contest” as opposed to “guilty” is key. In most situations, they have exactly the same effect—you will get the same penalty from the judge, but if you think you might be sued in civil court for something relating to your criminal case, you should always plead “no contest” instead of pleading “guilty.” 

For example, in a car accident, if you plead “guilty” to the traffic citation, and the other driver sues you in civil court, the guilty plea can be used against you as an admission of wrongdoing, and you may end up paying double for one mistake.  However, if you plead “no contest,” you are not admitting guilt, and it cannot be used as an admission in a civil case.

On the other hand, if you are not being sued for anything, and you have decided not to negotiate your case any further, it is usually better to plead “guilty” instead of “no contest,” because it gives the judge the impression that you are accepting responsibility. This is especially the case with more serious charges—the more you can show the judge that you understand how serious the case is, the less he will feel like he needs to “help you” understand the seriousness by imposing greater penalties.