Trade Practices and Consumers: The Plea Non Vult Contendere Cum Domina Regina Et Posuit Se in Gratiam Curiae1
| Author | J. R. O'Brien |
| DOI | 10.1177/0067205X7200500107 |
| Published date | 01 March 1972 |
| Date | 01 March 1972 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
TRADE
PRACTICES AND CONSUMERS:
THE
PLEA
NON VULT CONTENDERE
CUM
DOMINA
REGINA
ET
POSUIT
SE
IN
GRATIAM
CURIAEl
By
J.
R.
O'BRIEN*
\Vhen a
defendant
is asked
to
plead to acriminal charge,
he
is
not
restricted to the pleas
of
guilty
and
not
guilty.
Other
pleas well
kno\vn
to
la\vyers
include
autrefois acquit
and
the
plea
to
the juris-
diction.2
Some
older pleas such as benefit
of
clergy have
been
abolished
..
The
plea
of
non
vult
contendere
cum
domina
Regina
et
posuit
se
in
gratiam
curiae is unfamiliar
to
Australian lawyers.
The
last
reported
use of the plea
in
England
3was
in
1702
in The
Queen
v.
Telnpleman.4
The
report
of
this case is
unfortunately
brief:
After
pleading guilty
to
an
indictment, the defendant may give
evidence that justifies the fact in mitigation
oj
punishment-S.C.
3Danv. 253. S.C. 1Salk. 55.
After
pleading guilty
to
an
indictment,
you
may
give anything in
evidence
that
justifies
the
fact,
or
proves
him
not
guilty of
the
fact;
for
the entry is non vult contendere
cum
domina Regina,
sed ponit se in gratiam Curiae.
And
it
is
not
like the case where
one is found guilty
by
verdict.
1'he plea, also kno\vn as the
pea
of
nolo contendere, appears
to
have
arisen
from
acolloquy bet\veen
court
and
counsel
recorded
in
the
year book
of
1430.
\Veston.
If
one
be indicted
for
Trespass
and
he
surrenders
and
pays afine, will
he
be
permitted
after'tvards
to
plead
Not
Guilty?
Paston
(J.)
Yes;
certainly.
\Vhich was
agreed
by all
the
court.
\Veston.
It
is
of
record
that
he
admitted it.
~
,"
*LL.B.
(Adel.);
Barrister
and
Solicitor; Legal Officer, Western Mining
Cor-
poration.
1Literally:
"I
do
not
wish
to
contend with
the
Crown,
but
place myself
on
the mercy
of
the
court."
2
10
HaIsb.
(3rd
ed.)
404. .
3The history
of
the plea is traced in L.
B.
Orfield, Criminal Procedure
from
Arrest
to
Appeal
(1947)
292-293; N.
B.
Lenvin and E. S. Iv1eyers,
"Nolo
Con-
tendere;
Its
Nature
and
Implications"
(1942)
51
Yale
L.I. 1255; case note,
(1934)
48 Harv. L. Rev. 128. Some early references
are
collected in fJudson
v. U.S.
(1926)
272
U.S. 451;
71
L.
ed. 347; 47
S.
Ct
127. [Research in this
matter has been limited
to
University and Supreme
Court
libraries in South
and
Western Australia; a
better
equipped practitioner
may
have information on a
rnore recent use
of
the
plea
before
an
English court.]
4
(1702)
7Mod. 40, 87 B.R. 1081;
(1702)
1Salk. 55,
91
E.R. 54.
125
~
I
To continue reading
Request your trial