Nolo Contendere also known as No Contest

Nolo Contendere, pronounced “NO-lo kawn-TAWN-dray,” is Latin for “I will not contest.” It is also referred to commonly as pleading No Contest or Standing Mute. It essentially means that the defendant does not admit or deny guilt, but accepts punishment for the crime that is charged. If you signed a citation given to you by a police officer, that does not prevent you from pleading no contest in court.

Pleading nolo contendere allows the court to administer penalties for the crime without the defendant admitting any guilt. This legal procedure can be helpful to a defendant, particularly if there are a number of charges pending. Rather than go through the court system with numerous charges pending, the defendant can plead no contest to lesser charges, thereby “cleaning the slate” of several less onerous crimes in exchange for a lesser punishment.

States/Abbreviations
AK	Alaska	LA	Louisiana	OH	Ohio
AL	Alabama	MA	Massachusetts	OK	Oklahoma
AR	Arkansas	MD	Maryland	OR	Oregon
AZ	Arizona	ME	Maine	PA	Pennsylvania
CA	California	MI	Michigan	RI	Rhode Island
CO	Colorado	MN	Minnesota	SC	South Carolina
CT	Connecticut	MO	Missouri	SD	South Dakota
DE	Delaware	MS	Mississippi	TN	Tennessee
FL	Florida	MT	Montana	TX	Texas
GA	Georgia	NC	North Carolina	UT	Utah
HI	Hawaii	ND	North Dakota	VT	Vermont
IA	Iowa	NE	Nebraska	VA	Virginia
ID	Idaho	NH	New Hampshire	WA	Washington State
IL	Illinois	NJ	New Jersey	WI	Wisconsin
IN	Indiana	NM	New Mexico	WV	West Virginia
KS	Kansas	NV	Nevada	WY	Wyoming
KY	Kentucky	NY	New York	DC	Washington DC