non vult

9.9

A plea where a defendant does not admit guilt but accepts conviction

noun
/nɒn vʌlt/

Formal

: no contest

A non vult plea can sometimes result in a lighter sentence than a guilty plea.

Examples

The defendant entered a non vult plea to avoid a lengthy trial.
The defendant entered a non vult plea during the trial.
After much deliberation, her lawyer advised her to plead non vult to the charges.
He chose to plead non vult.
A non vult plea can sometimes result in a lighter sentence than a guilty plea.
After much deliberation, her lawyer advised her to plead non vult to the charges.
The defendant entered a non vult plea to avoid a lengthy trial.

Synonyms

nolo contendere

vsnon vult

Formal

2 9.9

A way for a person accused of a crime to accept punishment without admitting they did it

is the same in meaning but is a less common variant used in some jurisdictions

Antonyms

guilty

∞ 2.3

Responsible for doing something wrong and open to blame or punishment

Surface Forms

non vult singular

non vults plural

Morphology

non + vult

The phrase is a Latin legal term whose constituent items are not productive English words for a B1 learner; even if a learner guesses 'non' = not, 'vult' is unknown and the legal sense 'no contest' is not a straightforward composition of those parts. Its meaning is a specialized legal convention rather than a predictable combination of meanings, so learners cannot derive the sense from the constituents.

Etymology

Non vult comes from Latin, where non means 'not' and vult means 'wants'. It started as a short answer in court meaning the person 'does not want' to fight the charge, so today non vult is used like a 'no contest' plea, not admitting guilt but accepting conviction.