# Nolo contendere - why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537 "2010-04-18T16:12:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/21 "2010-04-18T19:33:12Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > In many respects that’s how Jesus treated the court when take before Pilate. In His case He seemed to know that, even though He was not guilty, there was nothing He could say, and He had to go through the process. Possible some who plead no contest also feel their fate is predetermined so why go through the effort. Besides, He could appeal after conviction to a much higher Court! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/22 "2010-04-19T06:02:59Z")
How does a nolo contendre plea affect one’s obligation on job applications? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/23 "2010-04-19T10:06:42Z")
> [@Deflagration](#): > > 1. I plea ‘Not guilty’. There is doubt so it goes to trial. Prosecutor won’t be able to prove that I am (because, as stated in this example, I’m not). I go free. You really think that innocent people are never wrongly proven to be guilty? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/24 "2010-04-19T16:20:15Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > How does a nolo contendre plea affect one’s obligation on job applications? Typically, job applications ask about convictions. Since entering a nolo contendere plea results in a judgment of conviction, it doesn’t help much. By the way: I have heard a number of different pronunciations of the second word. Four syllables: con-ten-DARE-ree. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/25 "2010-04-19T17:12:19Z")
The Staff Report has it right (thanks to the painfully shy and humble-to-a-fault **Bricker** ). In Ohio, if you plead no contest it doesn’t mean that you’re agreeing that you’re guilty, but you are admitting “the truth of the facts as contained in the complaint.” A NC plea can’t be used against you in a later civil case, if you’re sued. You also get to make an explanation to the court as to what happened and, not infrequently in minor criminal or traffic matters, may even result in an acquittal on one or more charges. Some people enter NC pleas at arraignment, even if they insist on their innocence, because they just don’t want to have to come back to court for a trial. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/26 "2010-04-19T17:24:49Z")
> [@Deflagration](#): > > OK. I understand for small matters. Parking ticket $60 - but you can get a special discount if you pay up straight away. > > But for big things… Let’s take murder as an example. But nobody is going to want to plead “no contest” to murder, and the judge almost certainly wouldn’t let them anyway. If you really are innocent, pleading “no contest” doesn’t help you a bit. A judge has to approve any guilty plea, and if they don’t accept your plea, the judge will enter a “not guilty” plea for you. You only plead “no contest” when the penalties for conviction are less than the aggravation of fighting the charges. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/27 "2010-04-19T19:02:40Z")
You know, every time I hear this subject, I am reminded of a guy I used to work with. He got busted for something, I forget what. He came back to work, had been in jail for a few days, trying to get bail, then, according to him: "Man, I just wanted out of there, so I plead “Nolo Comprende” and got sentenced to time served. I think his name for it was at the least, honest. Tris ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/28 "2010-04-19T21:42:25Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > You know, every time I hear this subject, I am reminded of a guy I used to work with. He got busted for something, I forget what. He came back to work, had been in jail for a few days, trying to get bail, then, according to him: > > "Man, I just wanted out of there, so I plead “Nolo Comprende” and got sentenced to time served. > > I think his name for it was at the least, honest. > > Tris I remember reading about some mob guy in the 20’s who went to trial (New York? Chicago?). He plead nolo contendere. The newspaper reporters at the time were not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier. The headline in one local rag read “Mob Boss Pleads Guilty in Italian!” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/29 "2010-04-20T12:37:55Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > …"Man, I just wanted out of there, so I plead “Nolo Comprende” and got sentenced to time served… I hear people say “No content” or “No context” all the time. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/30 "2010-04-20T15:36:48Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > But nobody is going to want to plead “no contest” to murder, and the judge almost certainly wouldn’t let them anyway. If you really are innocent, pleading “no contest” doesn’t help you a bit. A judge has to approve any guilty plea, and if they don’t accept your plea, the judge will enter a “not guilty” plea for you. > > You only plead “no contest” when the penalties for conviction are less than the aggravation of fighting the charges. This is where the Alford plea comes in, and how it differs from a Nolo plea. Remember that in the prootype case that gave its name to the plea, Alford was accused of capital, first degree murder and copped a plea to second degree, non-capital murder, maintaining that he was innocent but unable/unwilling to risk a capital trial to prove his innocence. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/31 "2010-04-20T16:54:55Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I don’t think so. Even if you plead no contest, the verdict is still “guilty as charged”. The small distinction is that you made no admission of guilt. Actually, there isn’t a verdict. Juries return verdicts, Judges return judgments. Without a jury, there isn’t a verdict, just a judgment. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/32 "2010-04-20T17:15:46Z")
I stand corrected. What is the judgement after a plea of “no contest”? ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/33 "2010-04-20T17:21:18Z")
Is refusing to enter a plea the same as nolo contendere? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/34 "2010-04-20T17:28:41Z")
No. In the old days, the court would require you to enter a plea to allow it to continue proceedings, and if you didn’t, judges would order that you have heavy weights placed on your chest to encourage you to plead. Of course, there was a risk that [you’d get pressed to death](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crushing), but judges back then had gumption, by gaw! Nowadays, wussy judges just enter a plea of “not guilty” on your behalf if you refuse to plead, and matters proceed in their merry way. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/35 "2010-04-20T17:36:43Z")
What is the point of refusing to plead? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/36 "2010-04-20T17:38:47Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I stand corrected. What is the judgement after a plea of “no contest”? Well, criminal law is by and large state law, so there potentially 50 different answers - actually, a lot of states don’t permit nolo contendere in some cases. In general, though, the effect is almost identical to a guilty plea - here’s an example from the Indiana Criminal Code regarding traffic violations: here’s one example (traffic violations in Indiana): IC 34-28-5-2 (C) a declaration of nolo contendere in which the defendant consents to entry of judgment for the state without admitting to the violation. IC 34-28-5-12 Notice requirements for acceptance of admission or nolo contendere plea Sec. 12. Before accepting a pleading admitting to a violation or entering a declaration of nolo contendere to a violation, the violations clerk or the officer writing the ticket shall inform the person that: (1) the person’s signature to: (A) an admission of the violation; or (B) a pleading of nolo contendere; will have the same effect as a judgment of a court; and (2) the record of judgment will be sent to the commissioner of motor vehicles of Indiana or the state where the person received a license to drive. So, basically, Indiana will inform you that your nolo contendere will have the same effect as a judgment of the court, and the judgment is “for the state.” ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/37 "2010-04-20T17:39:56Z")
To show you’re a bad motherfucker who won’t cooperate with the pigs. There’s no point in refusing to plead, because if you refuse to plead the Judge will enter a plea of “not guilty” for you. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/38 "2010-04-20T17:41:40Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > What is the point of refusing to plead? Some people are ornery, or dumb as stumps, or will even (and this once happened to me) refuse to acknowledge the authority of the court. Entering a not guilty plea for them preserves their rights and allows the case to proceed. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/39 "2010-04-20T19:05:41Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > What is the point of refusing to plead? Well, again harking back to the common law origins of pleadings, if you didn’t enter a plea, the court couldn’t try you. If you refused to plead, and the court ordered the _peine forte et dure_ (i.e. pressing), and you died, you died legally innocent. That meant that your property passed to your heirs, rather than being forfeit to the Crown, as was often the case if you were convicted of a felony. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537/40 "2010-04-20T19:06:55Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Some people are ornery, or dumb as stumps, or will even (and this once happened to me) refuse to acknowledge the authority of the court. Entering a not guilty plea for them preserves their rights and allows the case to proceed. we’ve had some sovereign citizen types who have refused to enter pleas, thinking that would stymie the court from trying them. One in particular was incensed that the trial judge entered a plea of “not guilty” on his behalf, thereby defeating his well-thought out legal strategy. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nolo-contendere-why/536537.md?page=3)