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We've been advised of our rights, and rather than plead the Fifth, we buckled down with our court-appointed attorney to get to the bottom of this litigious quandary. A boring but effective law dictionary gave us some good advice. It turns out the differences between pleas of "guilty" and "no contest" only become relevant in certain situations. One of the most common reasons why defendants plead no contest to criminal charges is if they're also facing the possibility of civil
lawsuits. For example, say someone is charged with reckless driving. If this defendant pleads "no contest" to the charges in criminal court, that verdict cannot be used against the person if a civil suit is filed later. Why? Because it's not an admission of guilt. However, everything else that came out in the criminal trial can be used as evidence. Still, it can be a smart move under certain circumstances. A big disadvantage of pleading "no contest" is that the defendant doesn't get a day in court. And a plea of "no contest" doesn't get the defendant out of punishment.
However, if the defendant is particularly worried about a public trial (a common problem for celebrities) or honestly doesn't remember the circumstances which led to the charges, "no contest" can be the way to go. Finally, here's our version of a legal disclaimer -- our legal experience consists mainly of Matlock reruns, so please check with a lawyer before opening your mouth in court.
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