What's the difference between nolo contendere and nolle prosse. why do they make this stuff so confusing

You can simply answer no. Because your case was NP: (a) you were not convicted, (b) you did not plead guilty, (c) you did not plead no contest. I am confident that you entered a Not Guilty Plea. Be sure to review the application to make sure there are no questions asking whether or not you have been arrested. In that case you would have to answer yes. Benjamin Fernandez, Esq.

Nolle prosse is essentially when the prosecutor drops the charge against you. (This is something that the prosecutor does, unlike a no contest plea). Nolo Contendere (which is the same as No Contest), is when a defendant neither admit nor denies the charges that have been filed againt them, thus letting them stand as is. If a judge accepts a no contest plea, then the person making the plea is probably going to be found guilty. Now to answer your question, if your felony case was nolle prosse, then you would answer no to the question "have you ever been convicted", and this is because the prosecutor has dropped the underlying charge against you. However, please note that this only applies to the charge that was dropped. If there were more charges that were not dropped or convictions or guilty or no contest pleas in your history, this can affect how you would answer the question. I hope this clarifies everything for you.

Nolo contendere means 'no contest' and nolle prosequi roughly means 'no longer pursued or prosecuted. If a charge was dropped, then there has been no conviction and you can answer no. You should have the arrest sealed or expunged. Here is a link to FDLE: http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/expunge.

Not at all confusing, if you studied Latin in school. :) In the event you did not, here are some definitions: Nolle Prosequi means (roughly) Not Prosecuted. Also, my dog's name, Nolle Prosequi, the Defender Dog. The action is often referred to as simply "a Nolle, or Nollied." It means that the case was not pursued. You can say validly, for example, "I was arrested, but the Prosecutor Dismissed the case. There was never any conviction." Keep that notice of Nolle P. Nolo Contendere means "No Contest," That is like a guilty plea, but without a detailed admission of guilt and circumstances. It may simply mean, "I could have beaten the Prosecutor's weak case of safe-breaking, but when offered a plea of entry without permission and time served, I decided to plead No Contest rather that take a life offense to trail." Simply risk management. Terminology used to be worse - and it is slowly improving.

You post did not come through completely, but I think I can answer this regardlesss. Nolo Contedere is a PLEA that's entered at arraignment or anytime before a jury returns a verdict. You have three options, you can PLEAD NOT GUILTY, NOLO CONTENDERE (which is just a fancy way of saying No Contest), or GUILTY. Generally a NOLO plea is better than a GUILTY plea for reasons that go beyond the scope of your question. NOLLE PROSSE is a disposition. It's a decision by the State not to prosecute a case. In order words a fancy way of saying the charges are being dropped. Here too there are two other options, a GUILTY judgment or an ACQUITTAL (the fancy way of saying NOT GUILTY -- you win and get to go free). Usually, the question relates to felonies. The key is whether you plead NOT GUILTY or NOLO CONTENDERE. If you plead NOT GUILTY and the charges were NOLLE PROSSE'D then you are all good. If not, you likely have to answer yes and explain on a separate sheet. Hope this helps.

If that is the exact wording of the question: "Have you ever been convicted or or pleaded guilty to or nolo contendere to a crime that has not been expunged?" and your felony was nolle prossed (dismissed by the State Attorney), then you may answer "no" to that question. If the question asks, "Have you ever been arrested?" the answer is "yes" unless you have expunged your arrest and can legally deny it. Applications may ask shallow questions, but a simple FDLE background check will reveal that arrest. You may either want to disclose it to err on the side of caution, or expunge your record to avoid that from happening.