nolle prosequi
- noun
- /ˈnɑːleɪ proʊˈsiːkwaɪ/
- Formal
:
nolle prosequi
- Huntington accordingly issued a nolle prosequi (no prosecutions) against four of the defendants.
Examples
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The Court went so far as to say that Congress could take away the power, including perhaps even the power of nolle prosequi—the power to drop criminal charges—through legislation.
Academic text (2017) -
A nolle prosequi is in the nature of an acknowledgment or undertaking by the plaintiff in an action to forbear to proceed any further, either in the action altogether, or as to some part of it, or as to some of the defendants.
Blog text (32) -
The prosecutor filed a nolle prosequi to indicate that they would not continue pursuing charges against the suspect.
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After reviewing the evidence, the district attorney decided to issue a nolle prosequi for the case due to lack of sufficient proof.
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In the courtroom, the judge acknowledged the nolle prosequi, signaling the end of the prosecution's efforts against the defendant.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A formal notice from a prosecutor saying they will not pursue a criminal charge
A court record showing the prosecutor will not continue the case
Surface Forms
Morphology
nolle + prosequi
This is a fixed Latin legal formula whose meaning ('prosecution will not continue') depends on legal convention rather than transparent composition in modern English. The constituents are Latin/obscure and not productive for B1 learners, so even knowing one element would not reliably let a typical learner derive the exact legal sense.
Etymology
Nolle prosequi as a noun is the formal notice a prosecutor files that says 'I do not want to pursue' the case, like putting a paper on the file that ends the charges. So it means an official order that the prosecution will not continue.