Why you should ALWAYS plead NOT GUILTY

okay gente - basic criminal defense lesson #1 - PLEAD NOT GUILTY
Every day I see people who plead no contest cuz they think it means the same as "no contestar" like I don't want to answer or I don't want to say guilty or not guilty cuz I really don't know what is going on here. What they don't realize is that NO CONTEST is like you are accepting the charges against you - it is almost the same thing as GUILTY. It IS like pleading guilty and the next step will be to sentence you to jail or probation. Pleading GUILTY or NO CONTEST just lets them convict you without the cops and prosecutors even having to properly investigate your case.  They may not even have a case or enuf evidence against you!  It is better to start by pleading NOT GUILTY and then when your attorney looks at the evidence or lack of evidence against you - then you can look at plea offers or maybe you can even get a dismissal. You can always enter a plea of guilty LATER when you have been fully advised of the consequences by an attorney. Pleading guilty early on does not necessarily help you "to get it all over with" more quickly. There will be consequences to a guilty/no contest plea that you may not be able to foresee.

*** TRUCHA!!!!
THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS!!!! If you are a LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENT (que tienes la mica) or are present on some other type of visa or do not have lawful presence (sin papeles - que no tienes la mica pues) then YOU COULD BE REMOVED/DEPORTED if you have plead guilty or no contest to certain crimes - si anuque tienes muchos anos con la mica te pueden deportar en todos modos! TRUCHA!!! Get a good criminal defense attorney that knows about immigration consequences of criminal convictions and guilty pleas or get both a criminal defense attorney and an immigration attorney.
If your public defender is not taking your immigration concerns seriously then remind her/him that they have to advise you of immigration consequences under a Supreme Court case - diles el caso de Padilla los manda a advisarle exactamente como te puede afectar una declaracion de culpable o de ser condenado del crimen que te estan accusando... que no se te duerme el gallo!!!