(in a criminal case) a defendant's pleading that does not admit guilt but subjects him or her to punishment as though a guilty plea had been entered, the determination of guilt remaining open in other proceedings.
"I think some of the first work was done around 1960-1961, when one investigator was found to be falsifying records and was actually prosecuted by the Justice Department; he pleaded nolo contendere."
- Frances Kelsey, "Autobiographical Reflections", 2014 (http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/OralHistories/SelectedOralHistoryTranscripts/UCM406132.pdf)
