nolo contendere

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Nolo contendere is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.

In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of guilty or not guilty.

A no contest plea, while not technically a guilty plea, has the same immediate effect as a guilty plea, and is often offered as a part of a plea bargain.^[1] In many jurisdictions a plea of nolo contendere is not a right, and carries various restrictions on its use.

Origin

In an essay on the origin of the nolo contendere plea, Anthony J. Fejfar argues that the plea has biblical origins. Fejfar states that it entered English common law "based upon English ecclesiastical Law which is modeled after the encounter of Jesus with Pilate during Holy Week"^[2]. In the encounter, Jesus neither agreed nor denied guilt to the charge of calling himself the messiah, effectively pleading "no contest".

Derived from English common law, several common law jurisdictions, including the United States, also adopted the nolo contendere concept.

United States

In the United States, state law determines whether, and under what circumstances a defendant may plead no contest. Several other common law countries, however, prohibit the plea altogether.

Residual effects

A nolo contendere plea has the same immediate effects as a plea of guilty, but may have different residual effects or consequences in future actions. For instance, a conviction arising from a nolo plea is subject to any and all penalties, fines, and forfeitures of a conviction from a guilty plea in the same case, and can be considered as an aggravating factor in future criminal actions. However, unlike a guilty plea, a defendant in a Nolo contendere plea may not be required to allocute the charges. This means that a Nolo contendere conviction typically may not be used to establish either negligence per se, malice, or whether the acts were committed at all in later civil proceedings related to the same set of facts as the criminal prosecution.^[3]

Under the Federal Rules of Evidence,^[4] and most state rules which parallel them, Nolo contendere pleas may not be used to defeat the hearsay prohibition if offered as an "Admission of [a] Party-Opponent".^[5] Assuming the appropriate gravity of the charge, and all other things being equal, a guilty plea to the same charge would cause the reverse effect: An opponent at trial could introduce the plea, over a hearsay objection, as evidence to establish a certain fact.^[6]

Alaska

In Alaska, a criminal conviction based on a "nolo" plea may be used against the defendant in future civil actions. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that a "conviction based on a no contest plea will collaterally estop the criminal defendant from denying any element in a subsequent civil action against him that was necessarily established by the conviction, as long as the prior conviction was for a serious criminal offense and the defendant in fact had the opportunity for a full and fair hearing"^[7][8].

Florida

In Florida, the state Supreme Court held in 2005 that "no contest" convictions may be treated as prior convictions for the purposes of future sentencing^[9].

Texas

In Texas, the right to appeal the results of a plea bargain taken from a plea of Nolo contendere is highly restricted. Defendants who have entered a plea of Nolo contendere may only appeal the judgment of the court if the appeal is based on written pretrial motions ruled upon by the court^[10].

Virginia

Virginia deviates from the federal evidentiary rule in that a nolo contendere plea entered in a criminal case is admissible in a related civil proceeding.

See also

• Nolle prosequi
• Alford plea

References