Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

pleading guilty or pleading no contest

I'm not licensed in your state, so you should check with a local attorney before doing anything with this, but a "Nolo plea," which is short for "nolo contendere", means quite literally (once translated from Latin) -- "no contest".The court record still has it as a conviction, and you still get sentenced the same way, but you are not admitting you are guilty. One situation where this could make a big difference is with a traffic ticket or other charge (perhaps a DUI) related to an auto accident when the other driver might sue. If you have plead guilty, most courts will allow that plea to be used against you in the civil case -- meaning the court in tha lawsuit would almost automatically find you were at fault and simply look at how much you should pay in damages.

Guilty or No Contest

From a Criminal Law stand-point, there is no difference.

If there is a possibility of a Civil Suit arising out of the CriminalAct, then a plead of no contest CAN NOT be used as conclusive proofor evidence that the person is liable for the crime.

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No Contest or Not Guilty

I, too, am not licensed to practice in PA, but in Ohio, a Guilty Plea means you admit you are guilty of the crime charged and a conviction based on a Guilty Plea can be used against you in subsequent proceedings - civil or administrative.

A plea of No Contest means you admit to the facts recited in the affidavit - you do not contest the facts as written by the police; if those facts support a finding of guilty of the crime charged, the judge will make that finding.

There are two reasons for entering a plea of No Contest: 1. You or your lawyer believe(s) that the facts stated in the affidavit do not support a finding of guilty of the crime charged; and 2. A conviction based on a No Contest plea cannot be used against you in a subsequent action.One advantage to a No Contest plea is that you can appeal a conviction based on a No Contest plea whereas you cannot appeal a conviction based on a Guilty Plea (at least, that is the law in Ohio).

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Guilty or No Contest

Both result in a guilty finding by the court. However, no contest allows the defendant to befound guilty without an admission of guilt.