Also known as: no-contest · nolo contendere
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A criminal defendant's plea that does not admit guilt but does not dispute the charges. The plea is treated as a conviction for purposes of sentencing and judgment but is inadmissible against the defendant in subsequent civil or criminal proceedings to prove the underlying facts.
Nathan Nguyen entered a no contest plea to securities fraud charges. When the victims later sued him for damages in civil court, the judge excluded the plea from evidence. The exclusion prevented the plaintiffs from using the plea to establish liability.
Sophie represented five protestors facing misdemeanor charges. The prosecutor offered a package deal requiring all to plead no contest or the offer would be withdrawn. Sophie obtained only group consent forms without separate disclosures of each client's individual risks. The court later permitted one defendant to withdraw the plea for lack of informed consent.
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Leo was indicted in New York but arrested in California. He filed a written statement in California seeking to plead no contest and waive trial in New York. Both United States attorneys refused to approve the transfer in writing. The California court denied the motion because dual prosecutorial approval is required.
A corporate officer entered a no contest plea to a felony embezzlement charge. In a later civil suit the plaintiff sought to introduce the judgment to prove the underlying facts. The court excluded the judgment because the hearsay exception for prior convictions does not apply to nolo contendere pleas.
An employee entered a no contest plea to a workplace violation. The employer later argued that the plea could not trigger statutory protections available only after a guilty plea. The court treated the no contest plea as equivalent to a guilty plea for the limited purpose of the statute's application.
A defendant facing a lengthy sentence entered a no contest plea after the prosecutor threatened a harsher penalty at trial. The defendant later challenged the plea as involuntary. The court upheld the plea because the record showed the defendant understood the consequences and acted without coercion beyond the ordinary risks of trial.
Evidence of a no contest plea is not admissible against the defendant who made the plea in a subsequent civil or criminal case. The rule protects the plea from being used to prove liability or guilt in later proceedings.
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A lawyer representing multiple clients must obtain informed consent in a signed writing from each client before participating in an aggregated agreement as to nolo contendere pleas. The disclosure must include the existence and nature of all the pleas and the participation of each person.
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Transfer for a guilty or nolo contendere plea requires both the defendant's written consent and written approval from the United States attorneys in both the original and transferee districts. Without both approvals the transferee court lacks authority to accept the case.
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A final judgment of conviction is admissible under the hearsay exception only if entered after a trial or guilty plea, not after a nolo contendere plea. The exception therefore does not apply to judgments based on no contest pleas.
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…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…