nolle prosequi meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

nolle prosequi

noun

UK /ˌnɒlɪ ˈpɹɒsɪkwaɪ/ · US /ˌnoʊli ˈpɹoʊsɪkwaɪ/

Etymology From Latin nolle prosequi (“to not want to pursue”). Cf. prosecute.

Law UK A declaration from the attorney general ending a criminal prosecution.

Law A proceeding or declaration by which a plaintiff or prosecutor ends a legal suit.

Figuratively A refusal, a denial, a rejection.

[...] where the ordinary man would have met the suggestion they had made with a firm nolle prosequi, I was barred from doing this by the code of the Woosters, which, as is pretty generally known, renders it impossible for me to let a pal down. [...] “I do wish you wouldn't always be so difficult, Bertie. Your aunt tells me it was just the same when you were a child. She'd want you to eat your cereal, and you would stick your ears back and be stubborn and non-co-operative, like Jonah's ass in the Bible.” I could not let this go uncorrected. It's pretty generally known that when at school I won a prize for Scripture Knowledge. “Balaam's ass. Jonah was the chap who had the whale. Jeeves!” “Sir?” “To settle a bet, wasn't it Balaam's ass that entered the nolle prosequi?” “Yes, sir.”1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XVI and XIX:

verb

Etymology From Latin nolle prosequi (“to not want to pursue”). Cf. prosecute.

Law Informal To issue a nolle prosequi.