Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: no contest plea

A "no contest" plea, also known as "nolo contendere" has all of the same legal force and effect as a guilty plea in the criminal law context. What distinguishes a no contest plea from a guilty plea is that a no contest plea cannot be used to prove that "guilt" in a civil case. For example, if a person were to plead guilty to murder, the survivors could bring a wrongful death lawsuit and the only issue left would be damages, as the liability would be established simply by admission into evidence of the guilty plea. However, if that same person pled no contest to the homicide, the survivors, if they brought a civil lawsuit for wrongful death, would have to prove both the liability and damages; they could not introduce evidence of the plea to establish that the defendant actually caused the death of the decedent.

Even in cases where civil liability is not an issue, a no contest plea is slightly preferable, as it implies that the defendant does not wholly embrace that admission of guilt-- it recognizes the fact that sometimes defendants plead guilty, not because they are, in fact, guilty, but because they don't want to risk possibly being convicted by a jury and receiving a much greater sentence, or even to avoid the cost and time involved in trial. This is illustrated best by the California Supreme Court in a case entitled People vs. West. Hence, we sometimes refer to pleas such as this as a "West Plea."

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Re: no contest plea

A no contest plea is preferable than a guilty plea. A guilty plea can be used against you in a civil matter whereas a no contest plea is more difficult since they would have to prove that you were liable.