united-states criminal-procedure plea
Are pleading guilty and pleading no contest to a criminal charge the same?
<p>I sometimes hear these terms used in TV crime dramas and was wondering what exactly they meant. Is a no contest plea to a criminal charge the same thing as a guilty plea or is it different in some way?</p>
<p>If they do indeed mean the same thing, why are the two terms used?</p>

<p>A &quot;No Contest&quot; plea (also known in Latin as &quot;Nolo Contendere&quot; and sometimes called an &quot;Alford&quot; plea) <a href="https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/blog/what-is-a-no-contest-plea/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">has the same legal effect in criminal court as a guilty plea</a>. The result is that the defendant is giving up their right to a trial and allowing the court to convict.</p>
<p>The difference (as mentioned in the link above) is that in a no contest plea, the defendant is not required to formally <em>allocute</em>, or publicly admit guilt. This means that the defendant's admission is not available in a subsequent civil lawsuit for damages brought by the victim. The plea is also sometimes used when the defendant is not in danger of a civil lawsuit but wishes for personal reasons to refrain from publicly admitting their guilt while accepting a conviction and sentence.</p>
<p>This plea is sometimes called an &quot;Alford&quot; plea because it was affirmed in the case <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/400/25/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970)</a>.</p>
