Pleas of " nolo contendere " ( no contest ) and the " Alford plea " are allowed in some circumstances.

Sources disagree, as may differing states ' laws, as to what category of plea the Alford plea falls under: Some sources state that the Alford guilty plea is a form of nolo contendere, where the defendant in the case states " no contest " to the factual matter of the case as given in the charges outlined by the prosecution.

In federal court, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure only allow a nolo contendere plea to be entered with the court's consent ; before accepting the plea, the court is required to " consider the parties ' views and the public interest in the effective administration of justice.

For instance, a conviction arising from a nolo contendere plea is subject to any and all penalties, fines, and forfeitures of a conviction from a guilty plea in the same case, and can be considered as an aggravating factor in future criminal actions.

In Alaska, a criminal conviction based on a nolo contendere plea may be used against the defendant in future civil actions.

In California, a nolo contendere plea is known as a West plea after a seminal case involving plea bargains, People v. West ( 1970 ) 3 Cal. 3d 595.

The board of pharmacy considers a plea of nolo contendere to be deemed a conviction with regard to issuing licensing for pharmacies, pharmacist and drug wholesalers.

Virginia deviates from the federal evidentiary rule in that a nolo contendere plea entered in a criminal case is admissible in a related civil proceeding.

Some nations, such as America, allow plea bargaining in which the accused pleads guilty, nolo contendere or not guilty, and may accept a diversion program or reduced punishment, where the prosecution's case is weak or in exchange for the cooperation of the accused against other people.

Agnew resigned as Vice President and eventually pleaded nolo contendere to the charges, as part of a package plea agreement.

On May 26, 2011, both the DUI charge and the reckless driving charge against Lowe were dismissed by City of Atlanta Solicitor-General Raines Carter, and Lowe entered a nolo contendere plea ( no contest ) to a violation of violating basic motor vehicle rules.

He was deputy mayor from 1982 until his resignation in 1984 as part of a nolo contendere plea bargain to a misdemeanor conflict of interest charge, which courts later erased.

Upon being ticketed, a motorist is given the option to mail in to the local court or the court for the jurisdiction in which the violation is alleged — a plea of guilty, not guilty or nolo contendere within a certain time frame ( usually ten to fifteen days, although courts generally provide leniency in this regard ).

For petty misdemeanors like most traffic violations, suspected offenders may either plea nolo contendere and pay a set fine amount ( amende forfaitaire ) or contest the charge in court.

This type of plea has become known as an Alford plea, differing slightly from the nolo contendere plea in which the defendant agrees to being sentenced for the crime, but does not admit guilt.

FRE 410 holds that ( 1 ) withdrawn guilty pleas ; ( 2 ) nolo contendere pleas ; ( 3 ) statements made during proceedings regarding guilty pleas ; ( 4 ) statements made during proceedings regarding nolo contendere pleas ; ( 5 ) and statements made during plea discussions with an attorney present are inadmissible for public policy reasons even if they are relevant.

* Nolo contendere, a plea in a criminal court case ( also known as no contest )

* Nolo contendere, a plea that can be entered in some courts

After entering into a plea agreement with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and the forfeiture of US $ 23. 8 million in family assets, on September 26, 2006, Fastow was sentenced to six years, followed by two years of probation.

After a general plea for mother-tongue education in England: The first part of the elementary, published in 1582 by Richard Mulcaster, William Bullokar wrote the first English grammar to be written in English: Pamphlet for Grammar, followed by Bref Grammar, both in 1586.

He was deeply involved in the diplomatic affairs, starting a campaign for a renewal of the relations with the Holy Seat followed, in 1922, by a plea for the acknowledgment of the Soviet Union.

* This episode marked the first of Xander's three break-ups throughout the series, each of which would be followed by a botched attempt at vengeance: in this episode, Xander's awry love spell ; in The Wish, Cordelia's ill-fated plea to vengeance demon Anyanka ; and in Entropy, Anya's unsuccessful attempts to enact her own vengeance.

The Black Death of 1349 and the ravages committed during the Wars of the Roses were followed by periods of severe depression, and in 1439 several Cambridgeshire towns obtained a remission of taxation on the plea of poverty.

A case against him is disrupted by the cult group Systemotics, resulting in a near mistrial followed by a plea accepted after the ADA implies both he and the judge are connected to Systemotics.

Tenel Ka's Hapan ship, Rock Dragon had followed Zekk despite his plea to Jaina not to follow.

The plea followed Corus Group's announcement that it would close its Ebbw Vale steelworks operation.

A lawyer, hired by the college, was arguing specifically for Dartmouth: Daniel Webster, class of 1801, made her plight the dramatic focus of his whole plea.

The Laos government plea for help was made by Foreign Minister Tiao Sopsaisana.

Alford was sentenced to thirty years in prison, after the trial judge in the case accepted the plea bargain and ruled that the defendant had been adequately apprised by his lawyer.

The Supreme Court held that for the plea to be accepted, the defendant must have been advised by a competent lawyer who was able to inform the individual that his best decision in the case would be to enter a guilty plea.

" The book Plea Bargaining's Triumph: A History of Plea Bargaining in America published by Stanford University Press defines the plea as one in " which the defendant adheres to his / her claim of innocence even while allowing that the government has enough evidence to prove his / her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt ".

" Webster's New World Law Dictionary defines Alford plea as: " A guilty plea entered as part of a plea bargain by a criminal defendant who denies committing the crime or who does not actually admit his guilt.

Defendants can take advantage of the ability to use the Alford guilty plea, by admitting there is enough evidence to convict them of a higher crime, while at the same time pleading guilty to a lesser charge.

" In the 1999 South Carolina Supreme Court case State v. Gaines, the Court held that Alford guilty pleas were to be held valid in the absence of a specific on-the-record ruling that the pleas were voluntary – provided that the sentencing judge acted appropriately in accordance with the rules for acceptance of a plea made voluntarily by the defendant.

The Court held that a ruling that the plea was entered into voluntarily is implied by the act of sentencing.

Major Steven E. Walburn argues in a 1998 article in The Air Force Law Review that this form of guilty plea should be adopted for usage by the United States military.

" In fairness to an accused, if, after consultation with his defense counsel, he knowingly and intelligently determines that his best interest is served by an Alford-type guilty plea, he should be free to choose this path.

* List of U. S. states by Alford plea usage

They point out that most cases in adversarial systems are actually resolved by plea bargain and settlement.

Edmund responded to her plea by sending angry threats to Hugh, who brushed them aside.

Their treatment of the aboriginal inhabitants, whom they are accused of having practically exterminated, is a grave charge, and if true, cannot be condoned on the plea that such conduct was characteristic of the age, and that as bad or worse was perpetrated by other nations even in later years.

Nevertheless, the vast majority of criminal cases are in fact settled by plea bargain, which removes the need for a jury trial.

The vast majority of US criminal cases are not concluded with a jury verdict, but rather by plea bargain.

Both prosecutors and defendants often have a strong interest in resolving the criminal case by negotiation resulting in a plea bargain.