§ 16.01 INTRODUCTION

• Jurisdiction: North Carolina

§ 16.01. INTRODUCTION

Federal Rule 410 governs the admissibility of evidence of (1) withdrawn guilty pleas, (2) nolo contendere (no contest) pleas, (3) statements made during proceedings to determine the voluntariness of the above pleas under Criminal Rule 11 or a comparable state procedure, and (4) certain statements made during plea bargaining discussions.¹

The rule provides that evidence of all the above is inadmissible in both civil and criminal cases if offered against the defendant who made the offer, plea, or statement. There are two explicit exceptions: (1) the rule of completeness and (2) perjury and false statement prosecutions. Other exceptions have been read into the rule.

The key point is that all the evidence covered by Rule 410 would be admissible as an admission of a party opponent in the absence of Rule 410.²

--------

Notes:

^[1] Rule 410 is comparable to Federal Criminal Rule 11.

^[2] See Fed. R. Evid...