RULE 410. OFFER TO PLEAD GUILTY; NOLO CONTENDERE; WITHDRAWN PLEA OF GUILTY
Effective Date: 6/4/1976
Obsolete Date: 3/1/2014
Evidence of a plea of guilty, later withdrawn, or a plea of nolo contendere, or of an offer to plead guilty or nolo contendere to the crime charged or any other crime, or of statements made in connection with and relevant to any of the foregoing withdrawn pleas or offers, is not admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding against the person who made the plea or offer. This rule does not apply to the introduction of voluntary and reliable statements made in court on the record in connection with any of the foregoing pleas or offers where offered for impeachment purposes or in a subsequent prosecution of the declarant for perjury or false statement, but only if in any case the statement was made under oath, on the record, and in the presence of counsel.
Rule 410 was amended, effective March 1, 2014.
Rule 410 governs the admissibility of withdrawn guilty pleas, pleas of nolo contendere, or offers to plead against the person making the plea or offer. The rule prohibits admission of the pleas and offers themselves, and of statements made in connection with and relevant to the withdrawn pleas or offers. Only discussion necessary to negotiation is protected.
Rule 410 does not prohibit the use of plea-related statements when offered for impeachment purposes or in a subsequent prosecution against the defendant for perjury or false statement if the statement was made under oath and on the record.
Rule 410 was amended, effective March 1, 2014, in response to the December 1, 2011, revision of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. There is no intent to change any result in any ruling on evidence admissibility.
SOURCES: Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of April 26-27, 2012, pages 17-18; June 4, 1976, page 37; April 8, 1976, page 24;October 1, 1975, page 4. Fed.R.Ev. 410; Rule 410, SBAND proposal.
STATUTES AFFECTED:
CONSIDERED: N.D.C.C. §§ 29-21-38, 33-12-24.
Cross Reference: N.D.R.Crim.P. 11 (Pleas).