Common Questions: The Nolo Plea
A 'nolo' plea is commonly referred to as a please of 'no contest', and is in fact where most people have at one time or another heard the term. In short, the 'nolo contendere' means that a defendant will simply not contest the charges brought against them.
When a defendant does not want to actually admit guilt, but does wish to accept the specific sentence offered by the plea....commonly used in plea bargain cases.
Courts do not have to accept a nolo plea and often, they simply will not. If they do, a judge must feel that there is some accurate truth for the plea. Since the nolo plea doesn't actually admit guilt, it can't be brought up in future trials.
Technically speaking, the judge is ruling that the defendant is guilty of the charge even though the defendant has not admitted to committing the particular crime. In addition, the nolo plea actually has the same immediate 'effect' as a plea of guilty, though the future effects of the nolo plea are much more favorable to the defendant.
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