Also known as: nolo contendere
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A historical plea in which a defendant denies nothing and thereby subjects himself to a default judgment.
After indictment for securities fraud, the adviser entered a nolo contendere plea. When the investor later sued the fund in civil court, the fund sought to introduce the plea as an admission. The court excluded the evidence because nient dedire pleas receive the same protection as withdrawn guilty pleas under the evidence rules.
Defense counsel represented five protestors charged with misdemeanors. The prosecutor offered an all-or-nothing deal requiring every defendant to enter a nolo contendere plea. Counsel presented the package without separate meetings or individualized warnings about differing immigration consequences, violating the rule against aggregated nolo agreements absent informed written consent from each client.
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Indicted in New Hampshire for embezzlement, the bursar was arrested in Vermont and filed a written statement seeking to enter a nolo contendere plea there. The New Hampshire prosecutor refused written approval. The Vermont court denied transfer because both districts' prosecutors must consent before a nient dedire plea can be taken in the transferee district.
In a later civil suit, the plaintiff offered a prior criminal judgment entered after a nolo contendere plea to prove essential facts. The court excluded the judgment because the evidence rule permits final convictions only when entered after trial or a guilty plea, not after a nient dedire plea.
Facing the death penalty, the defendant considered pleading nolo contendere to avoid trial. After the court personally addressed him and confirmed the plea was knowing and voluntary, the plea was accepted and later upheld against collateral attack.
During plea negotiations the defendant made incriminating statements. He later waived the usual bar on using those statements at trial. The court enforced the waiver, holding that the protection for nolo-related discussions is a default rule subject to party agreement.
It represents the Law French plea of nient dedire, by which a defendant denies nothing and accepts the consequences of a default judgment without admitting guilt.
The rule excludes nolo pleas to encourage resolution of criminal cases without forcing an admission of guilt that could later prejudice the defendant in civil or criminal proceedings.
A lawyer may participate only after obtaining informed written consent from each client that discloses the existence, nature, and interdependencies of all pleas involved.
The defendant must file a written statement requesting the plea and waiving trial in the original district, and both United States attorneys must approve the transfer in writing.
No. Federal Rule of Evidence 803(22) permits such use only for judgments entered after trial or a guilty plea, not after a nolo contendere plea.
…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…