Also known as: no contest plea · nolo contendere · nolo plea
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A criminal plea in which the defendant neither admits nor denies guilt yet submits to conviction and sentencing. The court treats the plea as equivalent to a guilty plea for purposes of the immediate case while preserving the defendant's ability to contest the underlying facts in later proceedings.
Nadia Novak is charged with securities fraud. She enters a no contest plea to resolve the case quickly. In a later civil suit by investors, the plaintiffs attempt to introduce the plea itself as proof of liability. The court excludes the evidence because a no contest plea does not constitute an admission usable against the defendant.
Sophie represents five protestors facing misdemeanor charges. The prosecutor offers a package deal requiring each to plead no contest or the offer collapses for all. Sophie presents the terms in a group meeting and collects signatures. Because the clients face differing collateral consequences, the consents are later challenged as uninformed.
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Sharon is indicted in State A but arrested in State B. She files a written statement requesting to plead no contest and to have the case resolved in State B. One prosecutor approves the transfer in writing while the other refuses. The court denies transfer because both United States attorneys must consent.
An adviser enters a no contest plea to securities fraud. In a subsequent civil suit by a client, the plaintiff seeks to introduce the resulting conviction to prove the fraud occurred. The court excludes the judgment because a conviction entered on a nolo contendere plea is not admissible to establish essential facts.
Nathan Nguyen pleads no contest to drug charges. At sentencing the judge questions him about the offense facts. Nguyen invokes the Fifth Amendment. The court may not treat the invocation as inconsistent with the plea or use it to increase the sentence.
Noelle North enters plea discussions and makes statements about the charged conduct. She later pleads no contest. The government seeks to use her earlier statements at trial after she signs a waiver of the usual exclusionary protections. The waiver is enforceable and the statements become admissible.
A defendant may plead not guilty, guilty, or nolo contendere. A no contest plea requires the court's consent after the judge considers the parties' views and the public interest.
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No. The defendant does not expressly admit the underlying facts. The court may still enter a judgment of conviction and impose sentence as it would after a guilty plea.
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Evidence of the plea itself is generally inadmissible against the defendant in later civil or criminal proceedings. A conviction entered on a nolo contendere plea is also excluded from the hearsay exception for prior convictions.
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A lawyer representing multiple clients may not participate unless each client gives informed consent in a signed writing that discloses the existence and nature of all pleas and each person's participation.
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After the court imposes sentence the defendant may not withdraw the plea. The plea may be set aside only on direct appeal or collateral attack.
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…the Government could do that." Over 90% of federal criminal defendants whose cases are not dismissed enter pleas of guilty or nolo contendere. U. S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 1996, p. 448 (24th ed. 1997). Were we to accept the Government's position, prosecutors could…