Define nolo contendere.

Define nolo contendere.

• A. A guilty plea
• B. A not guilty plea
• C. When a defendant's plea does not admit guilt but subjects himself/herself to punishment as though a guilty plea had been entered.
• D. A double jeopardy plea

Answer: (C)

Nolo contendere, commonly called no contest, is a criminal plea in which the defendant does not admit guilt but agrees to accept punishment as if they had pleaded guilty or been found guilty. In practice this means the case moves to sentencing without an admission of fault, yet the court imposes the punishment as if there had been a guilty plea. This can be strategically useful because it avoids creating an explicit admission that could be used in related civil litigation, while still ending the criminal case. It differs from a guilty plea, which directly admits guilt, and from a not guilty plea, which denies the charges. There isn’t a separate double jeopardy plea; double jeopardy is a constitutional protection against being tried twice for the same offense, not a plea option.

Nolo contendere, commonly called no contest, is a criminal plea in which the defendant does not admit guilt but agrees to accept punishment as if they had pleaded guilty or been found guilty. In practice this means the case moves to sentencing without an admission of fault, yet the court imposes the punishment as if there had been a guilty plea. This can be strategically useful because it avoids creating an explicit admission that could be used in related civil litigation, while still ending the criminal case. It differs from a guilty plea, which directly admits guilt, and from a not guilty plea, which denies the charges. There isn’t a separate double jeopardy plea; double jeopardy is a constitutional protection against being tried twice for the same offense, not a plea option.