Can I plea no contest to a DUI? 76 Answers as of February 22, 2012

This response is general information only and does not establish an attorney client relationship. However, i would need further details to answer properly but you should hire an attorney and disclose all the details and let him evaluate the situation to see if you have any defenses or whether you should plead no contest or other plea bargain.

Please understand that a no contest plea is the same exact thing as a guilty plea. The only difference is that a no contest plea cannot be used against you in a civil case. So if you were not in an accident and there is no potential civil liability there is no advantage to a no contest plea other than the warm and fuzzy feeling it gives you not to plead guilty. What you want to do is plead NOT GUILTY and hire an attorney to assist you in your case.

You need to hire an attorney

It is a common misconception that a no contest plea has a different legal affect than a guilty plea. A no contest plea has the same affect as pleading guilty, that being, you will be found guilty and you will be convicted. The only way to put on a defense to a criminal charge is to have a trial. You would not be allowed to "defend" yourself after entering a no contest plea, although the court will ask you if you have anything to say during your plea hearing. A no contest plea is basically like saying you don't really believe you are guilty but you think the prosecutor has enough proof that you could be found guilty at trial so you do not wish to fight the charge.

Minnesota does not have a no contest plea. Moreover, a no contest plea has the same effect as a plea of guilty. It is a conviction and bestows no additional benefits.

There is not much benefit to pleading no contest or solo contender any more. Back in the 90s, you could plead no contest and keep your license from being suspended. If you were involved in an accident and are worried about the other driver suing you, a no contest plea might be helpful. Otherwise, a no contest plea will get you the same punishment and license suspension as a guilty plea.

A no contest plea is of no value to you. You will be found guilty. The only time a no contest plea is of value is that it prevents a person's plea from being used in civil court (like if you had an accident.) You MUST get a lawyer as soon as possible. Just because you blew over the legal limit does not automatically mean you lose. People win DWI cases all the time over the limit. (And, you have driver's license issues that need to be addressed within 15 days of your arrest.)

Pleading no contest is the same as pleading guilty. What you should be doing is thinking about discussing this case with your lawyer to decide if you have a viable defense. Advice: hire a lawyer.

No contest is not a defense, it is regarded as a conviction.

In criminal court Guilty and No Contest have the same 'force and effect'. That is, if you plead no contest at least as far as the criminal court is concerned it is exactly the same as pleading guilty. The only benefit of pleading no contest is that the plea cannot be used against you in a civil proceeding to establish liability. So if you had an accident with your DUI, then when you plead 'no contest' to the DUI, the plaintiff's civil lawyer could not use the guilty plea to establish that the accident was your fault. He would have to prove you were drunk at the time of the accident separately. You should fight your DUI. Pleading 'no contest' is not the way to do that.

Yes. It is the same as a Guilty Plea for sentencing.

"No contest" is not an option in Washington. It is very important for you to hire an attorney to get the best result possible.

No. There is no such thing in Missouri as entering a plea of "No Contest". You need to hire an attorney.

Obviously, you don't understand the difference between entering a "guilty" plea, a "no contest" plea, and a "not guilty" plea. There are important distinctions between them, depending on what you want to do. I suggest you call an attorney and discuss your situation, and decide how to plea from there. DUI's can be defended against. You need to understand your case and what can be done, before you decide to plea guilty or "no contest"

A no contest has the same effect as a guilty plea. If you get a lawyer you may be able to avoid a DUI. It is not wise to plead guilty or no contest. Talk to a lawyer today for free. Go to the website DUI-TRAFFIC LAWYER.com and get help now to save thousands of dollars and avoid a criminal record!

You should not handle your case any more than you should pull your own teeth or proscribe your own medicine. The court will appoint an attorney to handle your case. You cannot plead "no contest" in New York, but that is the same as a guilty plea in the states that allow it. The solo contender or no contest plea is for stupid people who are guilty but do not want to admit their guilt, so the court allows them to plead the case out without admitting exactly what they did. It provides more deniability later, but in New York you have to spell out exactly what you did in court before a judge before he will accept your plea. Drunk driving is like shooting a gun at a moving train and hoping you don't hit anyone with the bullets. Hopefully this will make you aware of the dangers to yourself and all the thousands of innocent people on the road who are just trying to get home to their families when you make such poor decisions. Good Luck.

I am also a former state and federal prosecutor. This is a question which should be addressed by you after carefully discussing all the facts, along with your rights and options, with your own criminal lawyer. Good luck.

NO. You can not plead no contest in KY. You will have to maintain your not guilty plea and either convince the prosecutor to drop the charge or go to trial. I recommend getting a lawyer to help you.

In the criminal justice system a plea of no contest is the same as guilty. What a no contest plea does for you is to make your criminal case conviction unusable in a civil procreating.

You cannot plead no cotest in Alabama. Only guilty or not guilty.

What is it that you are trying to accomplish? You should speak with an attorney.

You can plead, but it won't help you. You should hie an attorney.

No. Pleading No Contest is the same as pleading guilty. You can explain your case, if the judge allows it, but the judge will still give you the same penalty as if you plead guilty. If you want to fight your case, then you have to plead Not guilty.

A no contest plea has the same legal effect and consequence as a guilty plea.

There is no such plea in New York State. You must plead "guilty" or "not guilty".

DO NOT plead no contest. Prosecutors will often offer plea bargains to lesser crimes. Get a good DUI lawyer.

No contest is the same as a guilty plea. It will not change the penalties. The penalties you face depend upon how may prior DUIs you have had and what the breathe reading was. You may think it is cheaper to try to handle the case on your own. Regardless, you should at least consult with an attorney.

Pleading no contest is the same as pleading guilty. Either plea will result in a DUI conviction. You better find a DUI specialist to try and reduce the DUI to something else. This is entirely possible even if you blew above the legal limit.

A no contest plea will not help you very much, it is the exact same as a guilty plea. The only reason a no contest plea helps is if you were in an accident and someone is suing you civilly, then a no contest plea cannot be used as an admission of guilt. Otherwise it is exactly the same as a guilty plea.

A no contest plea will usually result in a guilty finding. The main difference is that the defendant does not say he is guilty of the charge, but he is not contesting it either. Thus, if the State's paperwork is in proper order, the Judge will find that if the defendant does not contest the allegation he will find him guilty just the same. A no contest plea is not considered a defense.

No contest is treated like a guilty plea. If you want to fight the case you have to plead NOT guilty.

There is no such thing as a no contest plea in Indiana. You either have to plead guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty, you will be asked questions to establish that you acknowledge that there are facts sufficient for conviction and they are true.

Doing so is the same as pleading guilty. It is not defending the case. You only need to do so if there was an accident and you are trying to avoid a guilty plea being used against you in civil court Of course you can fight the charges. When arrested or charged with any crime, the proper questions are, can any evidence obtained in a test, search or confession be used against you, and can you be convicted, and what can you do? Raise all possible defenses with whatever admissible and credible witnesses, evidence, facts and sympathies are available for legal arguments, for evidence suppression or other motions, or at trial. Not exactly a do it yourself project in court for someone who does not know how to effectively represent himself against a professional prosecutor intending to convict and jail you. If you don't know how to do these things effectively, then hire an attorney that does, who will try to get a dismissal, diversion, reduction or other decent outcome through plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate.

That is not an option. You must plead either guilty or not guilty and no one should just plead guilty to DUI without first consulting with an attorney. Even if you blew "over the limit" the breath test can be challenged and there are many other legal and factual issues that need to be investigated. Most DUI cases get reduced as the result of litigation and negotiation. A DUI is a serious charge that will give you a criminal record, put you in jail and cause you to lose your license.

No, you can not defend your case by pleading no contest. There is no practical difference between a no contest and guilty plea, at least as it concerns criminal consequences. If you plead no contest, you give up your right to make the prosecuting authority prove the case against you, and you will be sentenced as if you had plead guilty. A plea of no contest essentially tells the court and prosecutor that you do not intend to defend yourself against the pending charges.

A "No Contest" or Nolo Contendre plea is still available in Georgia, but it is useless for a DUI case. Georgia law now treats a Nolo Contendre plea to a DUI just like a guilty plea.

Well, the problem with just pleading guilty (there's no such thing as 'no contest' in Washington) is that there are serious, heinous consequences to pleading guilty. It may well be that you have a technical defense to the DUI charge. Also, any number of issues of evidence in your case may get you a plea deal that may eliminate or reduce the consequences to you. I strongly suggest that you call me or a lawyer of your choosing to discuss the facts of the case and your legal options.

No contest is one of several pleas available to you. It admits your involvement and the court will treat it as a guilty plea. It is advantage to plea no contest if you were nvolved in an accident THAT IS NOT also charged with the DUI. If an accident related to the DUI is charged against you, hire an attorney.

A defendant doe not plead no contest in Washington. There is what is an Alford plea where you say you are not guilty bus believe a jury could convict you anyway based on the evidence. This still counts as a guilty plea. I would not advise doing an Alford plea unless an attorney has discussed this with you. In any event any plea other than not guity results in a conviction and this is no defense to a DUI. Moreover, just because you blew over the legal limit does not make you guilty. You need to have a lawyer advise you after he/she has spoke to you and reviewed your case.

In Colorado, no contest has the same effect as Guilty. Usually at your first appearance, you can get an offer from the DA without explaining yourself. If you do not like the offer, get an attorney. Or better yet, just get an attorney.

Wait Wait. "No contest" is the same as guilty in traffic/crime court. The only difference is if there was an accident. No-contest makes it harder for the other person to sue you. But if you plead no-contest in court, the case is over and you are found guilty.

It depends on what stage of the proceedings we are talking. You should almost always plead "Not Guilty" at arraignment because otherwise you lose any opportunity for a Pretrial Conference which means no plea bargaining. A No Contest plea is the equivalent of a Guilty plea in that it will be treated as such. You are saying that you do not contest the Complaint or the evidence against you. It is possible to plead No Contest if the prosecutor agrees to it. You should at least speak to a lawyer before making any type of plea and you should seriously consider retaining a DUI attorney. Even for a first offense, the consequences can be severe, costly, and long lasting.

A no contest is the same as a guilty plea. Better to work out a plea agreement.

You can plead "no-contest" to the DUI, if you wish. It is unwise and any Judge worth their ethical salts will strongly advise against it until you have consulted with an attorney. My advice is to consult with an attorney before you do this. If you cannot afford a private lawyer apply for a public defender.

It depends on the prosecutor and judge as to whether they will allow a no contest plea, but even if it is allowed, it is treated just like a guilty plea by the Court.

No contest is the same as guilty. You are not contesting the charges against you. You will be sentenced as if you plead guilty and it will go down as a conviction.

New York does not have No Contest pleas. You don't give the facts and don't say if you have a prior record but why would you want to just plead guilty to a crime?

Yes.

A no contest plea has the same legal effect as a guilty plea except that it cannot be used as an admission of guilt in a civil proceeding. For example, if you were DUI and got in a crash, you would probably want to plead no contest (if that's what it came down to) rather than guilty if liability was in dispute in the civil case. A no contest plea in the criminal court will still count as a DUI conviction, is a prior, will result in license suspension just like a guilty plea. Some people prefer to plead no contest to save face if that makes the difference to you, then you can always make that request through your attorney if you have one. (And you really should have an attorney representing you, since there is more to a DUI than just the blood alcohol level)

It is unclear exactly what you are hoping to be able to accomplish here. You can enter a plea of no contest in your DUI case but this can often has essentially the same result as a conviction. By pleading no contest (nolo contendere) you are essentially saying that you are not taking a position against the charges - this means that you can still be convicted and still end up with the charges on your record. Generally, the only reason to enter a plea of no contest is if you have been offered some sort of plea deal by prosecutors. Sometimes prosecutors will offer to reduce the charges and/or sentence against you in return for a no contest plea. Unless you stand to gain something from pleading no contest, it is not advisable to do so. Make sure that you have consulted with a local attorney before accepting any sort of plea deal because you want to make sure to preserve your right to have any potential convictions expunged from your record in the future (an attorney will be able to advise you whether you are needlessly giving up rights by accepting a deal).

No contest is not an option in Illinois. You must ultimately plead either guilty or not guilty. Explaining what happened is known as a trial and follows a not guilty plea. If you have a defense to the DUI, you may want to consider trial. Please understand that answering this doesn't create an attorney/client relationship between us, and as hard as I try to answer your question well, it isn't legal advice. No matter how much information you put into a question, the answers you are going to get are still going to be vague. It is in your interest to contact a lawyer, most of whom will do a free consultation. Even 15 minutes with a lawyer is going to produce a more specific answer to your problem.

No contest is essentially a guilty plea. Same fines and still goes on your record. If you want to fight it you must plead not guilty. Contact a dwi attorney as soon as possible. There is a list of very good dwi lawyers at the National College for DUI Defense website. Good luck.

You are eligible to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty or no contest. If you enter a plea of no contest, you will be found guilty. However, by pleading no contest, you are preserving your rights in case there was any property damage or personal injuries sustained.

A no-contest plea is not a defense; it means that you aren't contesting the state's allegations of the facts. It's more or less the same as an Alford plea, although no-contest is the right term in Oregon state court. By contrast, in a guilty plea, you affirmatively agree with the state's version of the facts. There is little difference between them for most people, and you will still be convicted. If you admit the state's version of the facts but believe that you still aren't guilty (evidence should be suppressed because of an illegal search, or you had to drive due to an emergency) that's a basis for a trial, or maybe a stipulated-facts trial. You should not plead guilty unless your attorney advises you to. For your first offense, you can probably do diversion and avoid a conviction. If you can't do diversion (a few cases don't qualify), then it probably makes sense to go to trial, but that's something to talk to an attorney about.

Sure, you could plead Nolo Contendere (No Contest) but by doing so you would not be "defending your case" but rather you would be entering in effect a plea of guilty to the charge of DUI. Legally speaking, the two amount to the same thing.

Pleading no contest means that you are presenting no defense and a guilty conviction will be entered against you. There are mandatory minimums on DWI charges. The only reason to enter a no contest plea is if there is civil liability, i.e. someone was injured as a result of your actions. Whoever you are getting advise from is wrong. Do not heed that person's advise. You need to consult with a lawyer that handles DWI charges. I encourage you to meet with the best qualified lawyer in your area. Most lawyers will not charge for an initial consultation.

The short answer is, Yes. However, the way that you ask the question makes me wonder if you fully understand what a plea of no contest means for you. My suggestion is to find an attorney, especially one who will give you a free consultation, and tell them the story. It is possible a plea of "No contest" is not your best option.

A "no contest" plea is akin to a guilty plea. There is a legal term for "Explain[ing] what happened," it's called a confession. Listen to no one except your lawyer, and if you do not have one our office practices DWI defense.

You can plead no contest, but it is the same effect as pleading guilty, same fine, same suspension, same record, so you should not do that but hire an attorney to review the case and see if you have a defense. If you have a low test, you may be able to negotiate a better charge, but this would take an attorney to review the facts and defend you. I have been defending OUI victims for 30 years, so reviewing the facts is not a big issue.

The only difference between a no contest plea and a guilty plea is that a no contest plea cannot be used in a future civil case. This has no advantage for you unless you were in an accident. You do not have a clear understanding of the law and you need to contact a DUI law firm with years of experience to help you before you make a mistake you may regret later.

In criminal court, a no contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea. The reason for a no contest plea is to avoid the plea being used against you at a later legal proceeding.

There is no such thing as a No Contest plea in Washington statethe closest equivalent is known as an Alford plea or a Newton plea which is the functional equivalent to a guilty plea but does not involve an admission of guilt.

For all intents and purposes, a no contest plea is the same as a guilty plea. You'll still face the same penalties and conditions as if you had plead guilty to the charge. Also, in most circumstances, a court will only let you plead no contest if you cannot remember the incident at all.

Pleading "no contest" has the same result as pleading "guilty." When a defendant pleads "no contest," he is simply telling the court that he does not wish to contest the charges. The court then takes the plea, enters a conviction, and sentences the defendant accordingly. If you wish to defend against the charges, you must enter a plea of "not guilty."