>>9089757Time served + probation =/= suspended sentence.
>>9090821> If you plead no contest, it's effectively the same as pleading guilty, but since you aren't abruptly saying you're guilty it can't be used as evidence of guilt in other cases.That actually varies by jurisdiction. In California, for instance, it's only true for misdemeanors; a "nolo" plea to a felony *can* be presented as evidence in civil action just as if it had been "guilty."
>You should pretty much always plead no contest instead of guilty.The option isn't always available, though. Not all states recognize it at all. Most of those that do, as well as the federal court system, follow the old common law rule by which he presiding judge has complete discretion as to whether to accept it or not. Defendants do not have an absolute right to it, as they do to the ordinary "guilty" and "not guilty" pleas. It's also not always allowed for all categories of crimes (common law historically disallowed it for capital crimes, and each jurisdiction has its own restrictions today).
