Legal Question in Criminal Law in Missouri

Re: nolo contender vs. Suspended imposition of sentence

No. As far as I know, Missori Courts do not recognize a plea of "nolo contendere", although most Missouri Courts will in certain situations accept what is know as an Alford Plea. Both of these mechanisms are used by a person charged with a crime to be able to enter into a plea bargain without having to actually admit on the record that he or she did the crime. One advantage would be that such a plea could not be used against the defendant in the event that the defendant was also sued in civil court by a victim for damages to prove defendant's legal liability. Both of these "pleas" are entirely different from the concept of a suspended imposition of sentence. Sometimes, as a part of a plea bargain usually, a defendant enters a plea of guilty to the crime charged or some lesser included offense in return for the prosecutor recommending that the Judge grant the defendant a "suspended impositon of sentence". When the judge does that, it simply means that the defendant's plea of guilty was accepted but the defendant was not sentenced which results in the defendant having no conviction on his permanent criminal record. The defendant is placed on probation for a period of time subject to various conditions of probation, and if the defendant sucessfully completes his probation the matter will be closed without any conviction. I hope that this information has been helpful to you.