HB295 Summary

• Permits out-of-state pleas of nolo contendere or no contest to be admissible for impeachment purposes in Alabama courts to the same extent as guilty pleas or verdicts.

• Allows out-of-state nolo contendere or no contest pleas to be used for sentence enhancement under the Habitual Offender Act (Section 13A-5-9, Code of Alabama 1975).

• Permits out-of-state nolo contendere or no contest pleas for capital offenses or felonies involving violence to be used as an aggravating circumstance in capital murder convictions (Section 13A-5-49(2), Code of Alabama 1975).

• Prohibits the use of nolo contendere pleas in Alabama for any person charged with a crime.

• Becomes effective on the first day of the third month following passage and gubernatorial approval.