in criminal law, a defendant's plea in court that he/she will not contest the charge
of a particular crime, also called nolo contendere. While technically not an admission
of guilt for commission of the crime, the judge will treat a plea of "no contest"
as such an admission and proceed to find the defendant guilty as charged. A "no
contest" plea is often made in cases in which there is also a possible lawsuit for
damages by a person injured by the criminal conduct (such as reckless driving, assault
with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault), because it cannot be used in the civil
lawsuit as an admission of fault. "No contest" is also used where there has been
a "plea bargain" in which the defendant does not want to say he/she is guilty but
accepts the sentence recommended by the prosecutor in exchange for not contesting
the charge (which is often reduced to a lesser crime). It is standard practice for
the judge to ask either the attorneys or the defendant, "Is there a factual basis
for the plea?" before accepting it and finding the defendant guilty.
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