no contest plea
Guilt-adjacent court admission
A no contest plea is a defendant's formal acceptance of conviction without admitting guilt.
Unlike a guilty plea, it cannot be used as evidence in related civil lawsuits.
The Latin term is *nolo contendere*.
Defendants often enter no contest pleas to resolve criminal charges while protecting themselves from civil liability: He entered a no contest plea to the assault charge.
- guiltyResponsible for wrongdoing
- lesser chargeDowngraded criminal accusation
- defendantParty facing charges
- defense attorneyLawyer representing the accused
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
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