Nolo Contendre

A nurse contacted me yesterday. She pled nolo contendre to a criminal charge several years ago. She is applying for licensure via endorsement in another state and wanted to know if her plea to nolo contrendre was a "conviction" for purposes of a licensure endorsement application. She contacted the board and was told to complete her endorsement application to the best of her ability and accurately. What would you do?

This nurse is doing exactly what she needs to do, seeking professional advice to clarify the question before proceeding with the endorsement application. Why? Because not responding truthfully on an endorsement application is grounds for revocation of licensure and may be construed as fraud. Moreover since the nurse is already licensed in State A, any action taken against a nursing license in State B (endorsement state) will eventually be made known to State A through either a reporting databank or licensure renewal in State A.

I referred the nurse to a nurse attorney licensed in the state where she is seeking licensure via endorsement to obtain a professional opinion that she can rely on as legal advice and counseling when completing her endorsement application in State B.

What is Nolo Contendre? It is Latin for "I will not defend it." A statement in a criminal trial where the defendant declines to refute the evidence presented but agrees to the charges presented in the complaint. It cannot be used as an admission in other proceedings. http://www.legal-dictionary.org/legal-dictionary-n/Nolo-Contendre.asp