nolo contendere
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 400 U.S. 25 - North Carolina v. Alford · 1970Most cited · 14,267 citing opinions
a plea by which a defendant does not expressly admit his guilt, but nonetheless waives his right to a trial and authorizes the court for purposes of the case to treat him as if he were guilty.
How the Supreme Court has restated “nolo contendere”
Each Supreme Court definition of “nolo contendere,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “nolo contendere”
Court decisions citing the 3 opinions that defined “nolo contendere” — 15,002 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 3 definitions, chronological · 1926–1970
- ORIGINAL
Like the implied confession, this plea does not create an estoppel; but, like the plea of guilty, it is an admission of guilt for the purposes of the case.
a plea of nolo contendere, although it does not create an estoppel, has all the effect of a plea of guilty for the purposes of the case