no·lo con·ten·de·re (n  l k n-t n d-r )n. A plea made by the defendant in a criminal action that is substantially but not technically an admission of guilt and subjects the defendant to punishment but permits denial of the alleged facts in other proceedings. [Latin n l contendere, I do not wish to contend : nl, first person sing. present tense of nlle, to be unwilling + contendere, to contend.] |
nolo contendere [ˈnəʊləʊ kɒnˈtɛndərɪ]
n
(Law) Law chiefly US a plea made by a defendant to a criminal charge having the same effect in those proceedings as a plea of guilty but not precluding him from denying the charge in a subsequent action
[Latin: I do not wish to contend]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | nolo contendere - (law) an answer of `no contest' by a defendant who does not admit guilt but that subjects him to conviction criminal law - the body of law dealing with crimes and their punishment answer - the principal pleading by the defendant in response to plaintiff's complaint; in criminal law it consists of the defendant's plea of `guilty' or `not guilty' (or nolo contendere); in civil law it must contain denials of all allegations in the plaintiff's complaint that the defendant hopes to controvert and it can contain affirmative defenses or counterclaims |
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