Can a no contest plea be change to a not guilty plea if I was already given probation?

Question

I talked to many people before the hearing, including law professionals, who said the judge would most likely dismiss the charges. When I got to the hearing, I explained to the public defender the advice I had already received. The public defender advised me to plead no contest if I wanted it to be off of my record, so I did and was given probation.

After the fact, a lawyer friend told me that if I would have pleaded innocent I would have won. Now this plea is hanging over my head.

I know that I am not guilty of the crime I was accused of. I would rather not get into to many specifics of the case. If anybody is willing to discuss this with me via email I would appreciate it.

Answer 1

If you have already been sentenced, and you made the plea of "no contest", it's too late to do anything about it now.

If you had plead "not guilty" and had been found guilty, you could have appealed the decision.

Answer 2

No contest or "nolo contendere" means you agree you are guilty, but don't necessarily agree with the whole charge. For instance, you got a speeding ticket - the cop says you were going 90, but you "swear" you were only going 75 - either way you were speeding, but you don't agree with the number. It really doesn't matter either way - your insurance company won't care how you plead - a ticket is a ticket is a rise in your rates unless you go to traffic school. As for your suspension - whether or not your took care of the situation, you were still caught driving with a suspended license. You COULD argue that since you paid it off (bring PROOF OF SUCH to court) you thought the suspension was automatically lifted and didn't realize it hadn't been. The judge might throw it out if you're lucky, but if you choose this route, be sure and plead not guilty and ask to explain your case. You may have to go to trial by doing so, but there's a chance they'll toss it and save everyone time. Good luck!