Also known as: nolo contendere · nolo plea · nolo contendere pleas · no contest plea · no-contest plea
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A form of plea in criminal proceedings by which the defendant submits to conviction without making an admission of factual guilt. The plea produces the same sentencing consequences as a guilty plea yet avoids creating an evidentiary admission usable against the defendant in later civil or criminal matters.
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Nadia Novak faced criminal charges for environmental violations and entered a nolo contendere plea. In a later civil nuisance action brought by a neighboring landowner, the plaintiff attempted to introduce the plea to prove liability. The court excluded the evidence because the plea itself cannot be used against the defendant in subsequent proceedings.
Sophie represented five protestors charged with misdemeanors and received a package offer requiring all to plead guilty or nolo contendere or the deal would collapse. She presented the offer collectively in a holding cell and collected signed consents within thirty minutes. Preston later challenged the process because the lawyer failed to obtain separate informed written consent detailing how each client's participation affected the others.
Captain Lars Jensen was indicted in New York and arrested in Puerto Rico. He filed a written statement in Puerto Rico requesting to plead nolo contendere and waive trial in New York. The New York prosecutor supplied written approval but the Puerto Rico prosecutor gave only an oral assurance, so the court denied transfer because both United States attorneys must approve in writing.
Bobby entered a nolo contendere plea to environmental charges. In a later civil trespass suit the plaintiff offered the resulting conviction to prove essential facts. The court excluded the judgment because a conviction entered on a nolo contendere plea does not qualify for the hearsay exception that applies to convictions after trial or guilty pleas.
Brady faced a capital charge and chose to plead nolo contendere after consulting counsel. The court conducted a personal colloquy confirming the plea was voluntary and not the product of force or improper promises. The plea stood even though Brady later sought to challenge the sentence on constitutional grounds.
Mezzanatto agreed during plea discussions to allow the government to use his statements for impeachment if he later testified inconsistently at trial. The prosecutor introduced the statements after Mezzanatto took the stand. The court upheld the waiver because the evidentiary protections surrounding nolo contendere discussions remain subject to knowing relinquishment by the defendant.
A defendant may plead not guilty, guilty, or nolo contendere with the court's consent. The court must consider the parties' views and the public interest before accepting a nolo contendere plea.
A nolo contendere plea results in conviction and sentencing but does not constitute an admission of factual guilt that can be introduced against the defendant in later civil or criminal proceedings.
…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…
…and aggravation of punishment, including the record of any prior criminal convictions and pleas of guilty or pleas
…pleaded guilty, Rule 11 read as follows: “A defendant may plea
…see Pet. for Cert. 10-11), approximately 92.2% of the convictions in the Ninth Circuit were secured through pleas
…of previous conviction.— Evidence of a final judgment, entered after a trial or upon a plea
No. Federal Rule of Evidence 410 bars admission of a nolo contendere plea against the defendant who entered it in any later civil or criminal proceeding.
Yes. A voluntary nolo contendere plea generally waives challenges to the sufficiency of the indictment, including lack of specificity, because the plea is a formal response to the charging document.
A lawyer representing multiple clients may participate only if each client gives informed consent in a signed writing that discloses the existence and nature of all pleas and each person's participation.
No. Rule 803(22) expressly excludes judgments entered after a nolo contendere plea from the exception that otherwise applies to convictions after trial or guilty pleas.