Nolo contendere

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Template:Short description Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Hatnote list' not found. Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Template:DMCA Nolo contendere (/ˌnoʊloʊ kənˈtɛndəri/) is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, and it serves as an alternative to pleading guilty or not guilty. A no-contest plea means that defendants refuse to admit or deny guilt but accept punishment as if guilty, and is often offered as a part of a plea bargain.[1]

Defendants who believe themselves to be innocent may choose this plea when the expected cost of contesting the charge exceeds the cost of accepting the penalty. If the likely punishment is minor, such as a small fine, probation or community service, it can be cheaper, faster, and less disruptive to plead no contest than pursue an acquittal at trial.

The plea is recognized in United States federal criminal courts, and many state criminal courts. In many jurisdictions, a plea of Script error: No such module "Lang". is not a typical right and carries various restrictions on its use. Script error: No such module "Lang". is a Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend" (Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "IPA".).

United States

In the United States, state law determines whether, and under what circumstances, a defendant may plead no contest in state criminal cases. In federal court, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure only allow a Script error: No such module "Lang". plea to be entered with the court's consent; before accepting the plea, the court is required to "consider the parties' views and the public interest in the effective administration of justice".[2]

Residual effects

A Script error: No such module "Lang". 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 Script error: No such module "Lang". 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 Script error: No such module "Lang". plea may not be required to allocute the charges. This means that a Script error: No such module "Lang". 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,[3][4] and in those states whose rules of evidence are similar or identical to them, Script error: No such module "Lang". pleas may not be used to defeat the hearsay prohibition if offered as an "admission by [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.[4]

Compared with Alford plea

Script error: No such module "Lang". plea is similar to an Alford plea (also known as a "best interest plea"). An Alford plea allows a criminal defendant formally to record an admission of guilt for the charges, yet—at the same time— declare their innocence regarding those charges. Under an Alford plea, the defendant agrees to accept all the consequences of a guilty verdict—such as accepting punishment. An Alford plea bypasses the full process of a criminal trial.[6] The primary distinction between an Alford plea and a Script error: No such module "Lang". plea is that, in an Alford plea, the defendant pleads guilty (in a formal sense) yet in a Script error: No such module "Lang". plea, the defendant does not assert innocence or guilt. A formal admission of guilt under an Alford plea can be used against the defendant in future civil suits, whereas nolo contendere pleas cannot.[6]

Individual states

Alaska

In Alaska, a criminal conviction based on a Script error: No such module "Lang". 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]

California

In California, a Script error: No such module "Lang". plea is known as a West plea after a seminal case involving plea bargains, People v. West (1970) 3 Cal.3d 595. The state Board of Pharmacy considers a plea of Script error: No such module "Lang". to be deemed a conviction with regard to issuing licenses for pharmacies, pharmacists and drug wholesalers.

A nolo contendere plea to any felony is considered exactly equivalent to a guilty plea for the purposes of civil actions; this plea to any non-felony is not admissible to a civil action.[9]

Florida

In Florida, the Supreme Court held in 2005 that no-contest convictions may be treated as prior convictions for the purposes of future sentencing.[10]

Michigan

In Michigan, "A nolo contendere plea does not admit guilt, it merely communicates to the court that the criminal defendant does not wish to contest the state's accusations and will acquiesce in the imposition of punishment."[11] A nolo contendere plea may be appropriate "where the defendant would not be able to supply a sufficient factual basis for a guilty plea because he or she was intoxicated on the night of the incident, where there is the possibility of future civil litigation resulting from the offense, or where a defendant cannot remember the events which led to his or her being charged with a crime".[12]

A no contest plea prevents the court from eliciting a defendant's admission of guilt, but the result of the defendant's plea not to contest the charges against him or her is the same as if the defendant had admitted guilt. If a defendant pleads no contest to a charged offense, with the exception of questioning the defendant about his or her role in the charged offense, the court must proceed in the same manner as if the defendant had pleaded guilty.[13] A plea of no contest to a felony offense requires the court's consent.[14]

A defendant's no contest plea to criminal charges does not estop that defendant from denying responsibility in a later civil action arising from the same conduct.[15]

South Carolina

According to South Carolina code, the defendant in any misdemeanor case in any of the courts may enter a plea of nolo contendere with the consent of the court. The plea of guilty will be recorded on defendant records and will not affect sentencing.[16]

Texas

In Texas, the right to appeal the results of a plea bargain taken from a plea of either Script error: No such module "Lang". or "guilty" is highly restricted. Defendants who have entered a plea of Script error: No such module "Lang". may only appeal the judgment of the court if the appeal is based on written pretrial motions ruled upon by the court.[17]

Virginia

The Virginia Rules of Evidence differ from the parallel federal rules in that a Script error: No such module "Lang". plea entered in a criminal case is admissible in a related civil proceeding.[18]

Commonwealth

In the Commonwealth countries—such as England and Wales, Scotland, Canada, and Australia—the plea of Script error: No such module "Lang". is not permitted. If a defendant refuses to enter a plea, the court will record a plea of "not guilty".[19]

See also

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References

  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Stephano Bibas (July 2003). "Harmonizing Substantive Criminal Law Values and Criminal Procedure: The Case of Alford and Nolo contendere Pleas". Cornell Law Review. 88 (6). Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure - Rule 11". Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Legal Information Institute. "United States Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 410(2)". Cornell Law School. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  4. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Legal Information Institute. "United States Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 803(22)". Cornell Law School. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Legal Information Institute. "United States Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 801(d)(2)". Cornell Law School. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  6. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Alford plea". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Drunk driver who pled no contest can't relitigate issue of recklessness",All Business, 18 December 2006, retrieved 22 April 2010
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Lamb v. Anderson No. 6078 (S-11936), P3d 736". Alaska Supreme Court. 17 November 2006. Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."TITLE 6. PLEADINGS AND PROCEEDINGS BEFORE TRIAL ~ CHAPTER 4. Plea". California Legislative Information, State of California. 28 September 1998. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sheldon Montgomery vs. Florida" (PDF). Florida Supreme Court. 17 March 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  11. ^ Lichon v American Universal Insurance Co., 435 Mich 408, 417 (1990).
  12. ^ 1A Gillespie Michigan Criminal Law & Procedure, § 16:15.
  13. ^ MCL 767.37.
  14. ^ MCR 6.301(B).
  15. ^ Lichon, 435 Mich at 417.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The South Carolina Code of Laws, Unannotated: Title 17 - Criminal Procedure, Chapter 23, Pleading and Trial, Section 17-23-40", The South Carolina Legislature, retrieved 3 September 2023
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 25.2(a)" (PDF). Supreme Court of Texas. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Code of Virginia". Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.David J. Wills (2007). "Different State jurisdictions govern the plea process through their own legislation" (PDF). Division 3 Sections 146 146A.

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