United States Attorneys may not consent to a plea of nolo contendere except in the most unusual circumstances and only after a recommendation for doing so has been approved by the Assistant Attorney General responsible for the subject matter or by the Associate Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General or the Attorney General. See also 9-27.500, Principles of Federal Prosecution, which discusses the policy of opposing pleas of nolo contendere except when the circumstances of the case are so unusual that acceptance of the plea would be in the public interest.

The Policy and Statutory Enforcement Unit (PSEU) of the Office of Enforcement Operations will coordinate the review of requests for approval to consent to nolo contendere pleas in matters for which the Criminal Division is responsible. Such requests should be submitted to the PSEU using a form available to Department attorneys which 1) describes the facts of the case; 2) sets out the specific statutory violations charged; 3) states the charges to which the defendant agrees to plead; 4) explains the circumstances supporting the requested consent to the plea; and 5) provides any other information that may be helpful in rendering a decision on the request. The PSEU will obtain the views of the Criminal Division section responsible for the substantive area involved in the case and will forward the request and the section's views to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division for decision.

Questions regarding this approval requirement in matters under the supervision of the Criminal Division may be directed to the Policy and Statutory Enforcement Unit of the Office of Enforcement Operations at 202-305-4023.

[updated January 2020] [cited in JM 6-2.000]