Legal Question in Discrimination Law in Washington

Re: no contest (DUI in Washington)

Washington does not permit a plea of �nolo contendere� or no contest in criminal matters. If you plead guilty to DUI in this state, you will receive at least the mandatory minimum penalties, which depend on how many DUIs or alcohol-related offenses you�ve had in the past 7 years. The minimum sentence is also based on how high your BAC test was and whether you refused to take the test.

Washington does have a deferred prosecution option, but it�s only for offenders diagnosed with an alcohol or drug-related problem which is amendable to treatment. If you plead out on your DUI charge then you cannot get the deferral. Also, people can use deferred prosecution only once in their lifetime, so if you�ve had a deferral before you cannot get one now.

DUI in Washington or any other state is definitely not an offense on which you want to represent yourself. I recommend that you retain a lawyer and get some straight and definite advice on how to proceed as soon as possible.

Re: no contest

Yes, a plea of "no contest" is treated exactly the same way as a "guilty" plea. But, you should ask the judge for leniency, and if it is your first offense, there may be a progrqam you can enter by which the conviction is deferred. if you complete the program, the conviction never gets entered. If you fail, your conviction goes on the record. Most jurisdictions offer this sort of dealo, so look into it.