I plead no contest on a AADW family violence charge only because my lawyer told me to. Only problem, i didn't do the crime and the guy who accused me turned around and told some of my family members and my lawyer he lied on me because he was mad at me for breaking his $300 cell phone. Bottom line: my lawyer forgot this and still told me to agree to this.

Now I have three children and cannot get a good paying job anymore. I had no prior arrests of any kind, spent one night in jail a week after having a baby by c-section and totally messed my life up. it's better to plead not guilty and find someone to help you or a pro bono lawyer. Something really funny is a month later when the same guy put a protective order on me saying I beat him up in his apartment but I didn't and still don't know were he lives. just thought I'd share that.

My friend was sent to death row 17 years ago for a crime he did not commit. The District Attorney was eventually forced to allow leave to appeal. Finally, last September, the Court of Appeals overthrew original case because it was so flawed - evidence withheld, suspicion of false witness, police corruption etc.

So now my friend has two choices. He can either insist on a new trial (and his past experience wouldn't lead him to believe it could be a fair one, especially after 17 years). Or he can accept a plea bargain of No Contest. In his case it does not mean guilty. It means 'I've already lost 17 years of my life. Just let me out of here'.

It just gives simple-minded people the false sense of security that the fifth amendment protects. I find it amazing that pleading no contest is on a ticket. Only if we fight do we really get treated as possibly innocent.

I would just like to say that the law enforcement agencies of these united states are tax collectors for the state that they reside. That is right another hidden taxation without representation.

Indecency with a child and you don't think we want to know where the hell you are at all times. C'mon, you're lucky you didn't get killed in prison. Stay away from me.

I was charged with a crime I never committed, in a state I hadn't lived in for almost a year.

To go to trial would have cost thousands of dollars (only lawyer - not including hotel/childcare/missing work/etc). The only evidence the state had was a statement from the same person claiming to be the victim. The state knew they had no case, but knew I'm a single father with two kids who couldn't afford to fight it.

They offered to drop the felony to a misdemeanor and give me a year of probation in return for a no contest plea. I had two choices: risk a felony and lose my kids while I go to prison, or take a slap on the wrist for a crime I never committed. This plea is not looked upon as anything except expressing "I'm not guilty but it would take too much effort to fight this."

Anyone who thinks no contest is the equivalent to guilty doesn't understand why this plea exists.

There are cases that need no evidence but by the trained word of another carries a stigma of guilty till proven innocent. Some times it's just better to take a small slap you didn't do than spend your life in jail and still didn't do it.

I plead no contest 1980 to indecency with a child in Texas for a 14 year sentence. Served my entire time and released from mandatory supervision. There was no registration at the time and I plead no contest to the court's offer. If there was I would not have agreed to plead no contest. Please explain to me how after time served I am under lifetime supervision without it being part of my agreement with the court.

I think simple. Sometimes those who apply the law don't know what they are doing! They just open the mouse trap and hit the hammer!

I got a ticket for driving my daughter in a car without securing her. But she was in a seat belt in the back of the car. She just wasn't in a car seat. What should I plead on this ticket?

#10, stop drinking so much and endangering the lives of others.

My 48 year old mother pled no contest and was just sentenced to six months in jail for a misdemeanor traffic violation. she is very sick and I don’t want her health in the hands of county jail. She’s going to lose everything? is there anything I can do to appeal or reduce her sentence? Please help us.

i was charged with an assualt that i called self-defense. i had witnesses to this but yet my attorney told me to plea no contest. i was told that this will not go on my record because i wasn't convicted. is this true?

my husband was told to plea no contest to a plea bargain he did not commit. He won an appeal on the original charge and was told he should take the deal so he didn't take the chance of being found guilty again of the higher charge. Can he pursue any damages in civil court. He sat 3 years in prison for a crime he did not commit and he is still not treated fairly. we can prove withholding of evidence and he was not given full disclosure. who do we talk to or are we not allowed because of the plea?

If someone pleads "No contest" to a felony, can they still state that they were "not convicted of a felony" on a job application?

I got a reckless driving ticket. The officer said I was going 42 in a 15. I know for a fact it is very hard to go that fast in that area. So I know I was speeding. But not that fast. Can I plea No Contest??

To post #1:

To everyone who doubts the necessity of this plea, it's actually necessary and legitimate for some people. Suppose you are charged with a crime that you did not commit.

For example, suppose you picked up a hitchhiker and were pulled over and the police found crack cocaine on the person you just picked up. You could also be charged with possession yourself. If you were, you would clearly find yourself not guilty, and yet there is certainly enough "evidence" to convict you in a court of law. In that case, you want to plead "no contest"! It means that you do not admit guilt, but that you also feel you cannot defend yourself against the charges. It allows you to plea bargain and avoid a longer sentence, because even though you do not use crack cocaine, you probably would not expect to win a not guilty verdict in a court of law.

Interestingly enough, in this example, most police officers would not charge you with the possession if you explain to them the situation. But it could happen in many states, and in that case no contest is your best friend.

*Child abandonment in the state of ga. how can this be. help!* .guilty or not guilty or no contest. she was born on sept 4 2008 mother file this on oct 4 2008. in her county i live in a deference county. Now we already a case with D H R child support services. To establish child support now i ask for *genetic testing.* My notice came in the mail for a genetic testing Nov 20,2008 Her was Nov 17,2008 The Baby was DEC 08 2008. Now the test came back in the mail DEC 20,2008. Said 99% ok, *I'm cool with that's*.

ok I have another date with D H R Child Support Service to decide how much or go court, I Said let's go to court. Now keep in mind i have not been order anything yet. Now my court date, at Superior Court. FEB 12,2009 where everything went down. Now backup just a tab on FEB 9,2009 I rec: a letter to come court in her county, to report for Child Abandonment, so i go before the Judge before i can say anything they lock me up. Asking me how come i haven't done anything for the baby,like i said *child support is being established.* Now Child Support Established, everything from the court date of FEB 12,2009 *i have paid everything the court had told me to pay. i have a court date on tomorrow for arraignment guilty, not guilty,or no contest.*

If someone pled no contest without understanding what it meant, can that person have a retrial? They are innocent, can prove it, and even know who did commit the crime. This person had so much taken from them by doing the no contest plea, and I would like to see them get atleast some of it back. They just did not have the money to pay a lawyer and was told to plea no contest like it was the only option for them, but will be paying for it for a very long time.

I was charged with dui and had my license suspended. A few weeks later I was pulled over and charged with dus. Will it help anything at all for me to plead no contest to this charge?

You can't take a plea bargain without either pleading guilty or 'no contest'. If you plead guilty, depending on the state and what you're charged with, you often have to go through and explain the details of the crime you are pleading guilty to, which is fine if you're actually guilty, but lots of people take plea bargains for crimes they didn't commit- the unlucky guy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, the unlikeable defendant who just 'seems' guilty to the jury, or the person who takes a plea bargain for a dramatically reduced a sentence rather than take even a small chance of an erroneous conviction.

So, yeah, the world treats 'no contest' the same as it treats 'guilty', but look at some of the death row cases that were reversed when they discovered DNA evidence... Lots of those guys were forced to memorize details of a crime they didn't commit and pretend in court, even swear on the bible, that they did horrible things that they never actually did. No contest pleas allow people in situations like that at least some way to preserve a shred of their dignity.

Jesus pleaded "no contest." Think about it. He was innocent, yet he did not declare it or did He refute the allegations against Him). Followers of Christ are called to do the same (if put in such a situation).

No contest simply means that you are not admitting to the guilt, but you are still accepting the punishment as if you were guilty. I would never plead guilty to anything. Always choose no contest over guilty. I have seen traffic violations dropped on a no contest plea, that would have otherwise been fined.

I was recently convicted of a misdemeanor for possession of a dangerous weapon, I was told by my attorney to plead no contest to escape the 1 year of jail time that the court was charging me, along with 3 years of probation, Some may think that this law is broken but there are some ppl whom really haven't done too much bad things to get treated the same way as say someone who killed someone or raped someone.

The no contest plea does not keep the court from finding the person guilty. In fact it almost always results in conviction.

Hi, There are two options when sealing records. You can either petition to "seal arrest and criminal records" or you can petition to "seal a conviction". The first option requires that all charges be dismissed or acquitted. My question is, where does a no contest plea fall? Is it a criminal record, or is it a conviction? It does not seem to really qualify for either. Thanks

No Contest must be removed from the United States Court system! It's stupid english and still means guilty to the court!

Hi, i was charged for assault for which sincerely pled not guilty. I was later convinced by my attorney to plead a no contest and i am at moment awaiting sentencing. Will the sentencing enter my records; and is it a right decision i took since i want this matter to end sooner than later?

Hello there!

Isn't "no contest plea" a logical impossibility? What do the words refer to; what extension or actions outside the words if the person has not committed the crime but, can not refute the charges? Doesn't "no contest plea" create some sort of "vacuum"?

I would think that if a person can not be proven guilty he/she is released? And not that one complicates matters by creating a strange situation where the person who is charged can in some way be considered guilty because he/she could not refute the charges? Where in reality would a person be if the person in question was caught between "not being able to refute the charges" and "can not be convicted"? This seems impossible, I would think it is the authorities who has to prove the person's guilt, not the person himself?