Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Offer is to plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation accidently starting a fire on your own property with (3) years formal probation that caused minor property damage to (3) storage sheds. One count violation.

Q. Any ideas on saying NO Contest vs. Pleading guilty ?

So far only one single insurance claim has been filed for fire that happened 6/2009.

Court date is next week in Superior Court.

thanks......gary


Asked on 10/13/09, 4:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Marshall Law Office of Robert L, Marshall

A no contest plea is essentially the same a guilty plea. The judge finds you guilty and you can be sentenced accordingly. The only difference is that a no contest plea to a misdemeanor cannot be used against you UNLESS the charge is a wobbler, which is a crime that can be punished as a felony or a misdemeanor.

It sounds like you are probably charged with Penal Code �452(c), unlawfully causing a fire to a structure, which can be a misdemeanor of a felony. If that is the case, your no contest plea could be used against you in a civil case if somebody sues you for the damage caused, so there would be no advantage to entering a no contest plea as opposed to a guilty plea.

I often recommend a guilty plea, as opposed to a no contest plea, because it allows me to argue that my client is taking full responsibility for his or her actions.

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Answered on 10/14/09, 7:55 pm


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