Also known as: pleas of no contest · no contest plea · no-contest plea · nolo contendere · nolo plea
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A form of plea in criminal proceedings by which the defendant neither admits nor denies guilt but consents to the entry of a judgment of conviction. The plea produces the same sentencing consequences as a guilty plea yet prevents the plea itself from serving as an admission of factual guilt in later civil or criminal proceedings.
Pablo Perez faces federal fraud charges and enters a nolo contendere plea with court consent. When a victim later sues him civilly for the same conduct, the court excludes the plea itself from evidence. The exclusion prevents the civil plaintiff from treating the criminal resolution as an admission of wrongdoing.
Penelope Price and four co-defendants receive a package offer requiring each to plead guilty or nolo contendere or the deal collapses. Their lawyer presents the offer in a group meeting and obtains signed consents. The court later finds the consents invalid because the lawyer failed to explain how one client's choice would bind the others.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Pierre Poulin is arrested in a different district and files a written statement requesting to plead nolo contendere and waive trial in the charging district. Both United States attorneys must still supply written approval before the clerk transmits the file. Without the second written approval the transfer cannot occur.
Philip Powell enters a nolo contendere plea to a felony and is convicted. In a later civil suit the plaintiff attempts to introduce the judgment to prove an essential fact. The court excludes the judgment because it rests on a nolo plea rather than a guilty plea or trial verdict.
Parker Phillips tells the court he will accept judgment but refuses to admit guilt. The judge explains the three available pleas and gives him an opportunity to choose. When Phillips still declines, the court enters a not guilty plea on his behalf rather than treating his statement as a nolo contendere plea.
Pavel Petrov states he is innocent yet wishes to resolve the case without trial. The court accepts a nolo contendere plea after confirming the plea is voluntary and serves the public interest. The conviction stands even though Petrov never admitted the underlying facts.
A defendant may plead not guilty, guilty, or nolo contendere with the court's consent. The court must enter a not guilty plea if the defendant refuses to plead or an organizational defendant fails to appear.
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.
Evidence of the nolo contendere plea itself is not admissible against the defendant who entered it. The same exclusion applies to statements made during proceedings on the plea or during plea discussions that did not produce a guilty plea.
The court must consider the parties' views and the public interest in the effective administration of justice. The plea must also be voluntary and not the product of force, threats, or improper promises.
…the Texas Constitution. Tex. Const., Art. 1, § 3a. Those contentions were rejected. The petitioners, having entered a plea of nolo contendere , were each fined $200 and assessed court costs of $141.25. App. to Pet. for Cert. 107a-110a. The Court of Appeals for the Texas Fourteenth District considered the petitioners' federal…