Alford plea

Noun

Alford plea (plural Alford pleas)

1. (US) A plea in criminal court in which the defendant does not admit guilt but concedes the government has sufficient evidence to convict.
   • Alford Plea. A plea under which a defendant may choose to plead guilty, not because of an admission to the crime, but because the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to place a charge and to obtain conviction in court. The plea is commonly used in local and state courts in the United States.1992, Walter John Raymond, Dictionary of Politics: Selected American and Foreign Political and Legal Terms, Brunswick Publishing Corporation, →ISBN, page 9
   • Under the Alford doctrine, a defendant does not admit guilt but admits that the state has sufficient evidence to find him or her guilty, should the case go to trial.1996, Kathleen Daly, Gender, Crime, and Punishment, Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 20

   Synonyms:

   Kennedy plea