25:
435:
768:
668:, a conditional discharge is a sentence vitiating the finding of guilt in which the offender receives no punishment if in a period set by the court (not more than three years), no further offence is committed. If an offence is committed in that time, the offender may also be re-sentenced for the offence for which a conditional discharge was given. Pursuant to section 82(2) of the
754:
event be disregarded for the purposes of any enactment which imposes any disqualification or disability upon convicted persons, or authorises or requires the imposition of any such disqualification or disability. However, courts can consider previous absolute discharges in the same way as they consider previous convictions.
753:
Section 247 further provides that an absolute discharge shall be deemed not to be a conviction for any purpose other than the purposes of the proceedings in which the order is made and of laying it before a court as a previous conviction in subsequent proceedings for another offence, and shall in any
833:
or sentencing to "time served", meaning time spent in custody until sentencing. Many or most states also have alternative forms of adjudication for which a defendant may apply. Such measures are typically available only to first offenders facing non-felony charges and typically exclude certain types
745:, if it appears to the court, having regard to the circumstances including the nature of the offence and the character of the offender, that it is inexpedient to inflict punishment and that a probation order is not appropriate it may instead of sentencing him make an order discharging him absolutely.
705:
A court passing a discharge may still order the defendant to pay compensation to a victim, pay a contribution towards the prosecution's costs, or be disqualified from driving. A court may grant a discharge only if it is "inexpedient to inflict punishment" and may not do so where a mandatory sentence
568:
In
Australia, offenders can be discharged without being convicted, with or without being placed on a good behaviour bond (or other conditions). The sentencing options vary from state to state. Note that defendants can be discharged without conviction even if they plead guilty to the alleged crime.
551:
is an unconditional discharge whereby the court finds that a crime has technically been committed but that any punishment of the defendant would be inappropriate and the case is closed. In some jurisdictions, an absolute discharge means there is no conviction on the defendant's record, despite the
646:
In New
Zealand, offenders can be "convicted and discharged" (a criminal record is received but no other punishment) or "discharged without conviction" (no punishment and no criminal record). Defendants can be discharged without conviction even if they plead guilty to the alleged crime, usually in
602:
In the case of a conditional discharge, an offender who fails to meet the conditions of the probation or commits another criminal offence during the probation period may be returned to court, have the discharge to be cancelled, and receive a criminal conviction and sentence for both the original
748:
In summary cases, if the court is satisfied that the person committed the offence, and it is of the opinion, having regard to the circumstances including the nature of the offence and the character of the offender, that it is inexpedient to inflict punishment and that a probation order is not
559:
is an order made by a criminal court whereby an offender will not be sentenced for an offence unless a further offence is committed within a stated period. Once the stated period has elapsed and no further offence is committed then the conviction may be removed from the defendant's record.
684:
An absolute discharge is a lesser sentence imposed by a court in which no penalty is imposed at all. Exceptionally, however, a court occasionally grants an absolute discharge for a very serious offence when presented with extenuating circumstances (the signalman in the
614:
Malaysia's
Criminal Procedure Code allows for a magistrate in a summary trial to make a discharge amounting to an acquittal under section 173(g) if the court considers the charge to be groundless. In contrast, the public prosecutor may apply to the court for
594:
states that except in exceptional circumstances, if the discharge is conditional, no record may be disclosed after three years. No conviction occurs, but the offender is required to fulfill certain conditions as part of the sentence. The offender is put on
680:
is the day when the conditional discharge order ends, or immediately for an absolute discharge. Then, the offence is treated in law for most purposes (such as in court proceedings, employment, and insurance) as if the offender had not committed it.
689:, who was found guilty of manslaughter, is an example). That usually signifies that while a crime may technically have been committed, the imposition of any punishment would, in the opinion of the judge or magistrates, be inappropriate. In 2015,
834:
of charges, depending on the state. Such possibilities often include a guilty plea followed by a special form of probation, successful completion of which seals the public record of the case and expunges the offender's criminal record.
585:
passed in criminal court whereby an individual is found guilty of an offence but is deemed not to have been convicted. Although a discharge is not considered a conviction, a record of an absolute or conditional discharge is kept by
697:
made the court find that he was deemed unfit to plead and he was granted an absolute discharge. An initial request in 2015 to have
Chesshyre stripped of his honours was denied. In 2018, after an appeal to the victim's
590:(CPIC) and by the charging police agency and is purged from the individual's police record after a period of time: one year in the case of an absolute discharge, three years for a conditional discharge. The
828:
The meaning of absolute or conditional discharge does not exist as such in United States law. However, different jurisdictions within the United States have a variety of analogues. The most direct is the
676:
EWCA Crim 2689 the conditional discharge does not constitute a conviction unless the individual breaches the conditional discharge and is resentenced. The end of the rehabilitation period under the
734:
647:
cases that the negative impacts of a conviction far outweigh the crime committed. For example, if a high-end businessman is caught in possession of a small quantity of
1086:
852:
519:
1140:
717:
In 2008, 9,734 offenders were given absolute discharges (0.7% of sentences) and 87,722 offenders were given conditional discharges (6% of sentences).
651:, the small nature of the crime compared to the effects a conviction, without a sentence, would have may cause him to discharged without conviction.
606:
A court may grant a conditional or absolute discharge only for offences with no minimum penalty and a maximum penalty of less than fourteen years.
1112:
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offence and breach of probation. If the conditions of the discharge are met, it becomes an absolute discharge.
381:
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has a similar effect with a conviction recorded although there is no punishment. However, section 246 of the
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provides that in dealing with cases other than where the sentence is fixed by law (such as murder):
938:
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51:
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he was stripped of most of his honours and a review into the honours system has been called for.
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appropriate may without proceeding to conviction make an order discharging him absolutely.
8:
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729:, there is no conditional discharge similar to that in England and Wales, but
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was found to have sexually abused a choirboy, but a stroke and the onset of
409:
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115:
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but the accused may be charged again with the same offence in the future.
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1057:"Honours system under scrutiny after sex abuser kept title for years"
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710:" offenders. The law on discharges is set out in Part 5 of the
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356:
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was discharged not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) from five
541:
150:
903:"RCMP Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services"
963:
Lack, Julie. "Discharge Under
Criminal Procedure Code".
34:
deal primarily with common law and do not represent a
993:"Riza Aziz gets DNAA for money laundering charges"
706:applies, including certain firearms offences and "
1154:
850:
619:(DNAA) under section 254. In the latter case
513:
32:The examples and perspective in this article
796:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
1029:, 22 October 2023, 2020 c. 17 (s. 82)
520:
506:
816:Learn how and when to remove this message
70:Learn how and when to remove this message
617:discharge not amounting to an acquittal
1155:
1054:
735:Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
1017:"Sentencing Act 2020: Section 82"
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1138:Sections 246 and 247 of the 1995 Act
1115:. Sentencing Council. Archived from
794:adding citations to reliable sources
761:
678:Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
659:
621:proceedings on the charge are stayed
18:
599:for a period of up to three years.
13:
851:Joshua Robertson (18 April 2016).
588:Canadian Police Information Centre
544:whereby no punishment is imposed.
14:
1189:
972:. High Court of Sabah and Sarawak
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16:Court sentence with no punishment
991:Karim, Khairah N. (2020-05-14).
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1055:Doward, Jamie (30 March 2019).
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1044:[2006] EWCA Crim 2689
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275:Cruel and unusual punishment
7:
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46:, discuss the issue on the
10:
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477: English/Welsh courts
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131:Presumption of innocence
552:plea of the defendant.
293:Indefinite imprisonment
1143:June 25, 2008, at the
878:"Sentencing in Canada"
626:For example, in 2020,
352:Miscarriage of justice
1092:The National Archives
1082:"Sentencing Act 2020"
1027:The National Archives
557:conditional discharge
377:Sex offender registry
97:Rights of the accused
1119:on 28 September 2012
790:improve this section
700:Member of Parliament
592:Criminal Records Act
463:English/Welsh courts
391:Related areas of law
52:create a new article
44:improve this article
1087:legislation. gov.uk
712:Sentencing Act 2020
670:Sentencing Act 2020
581:, a discharge is a
372:Restorative justice
1022:legislation.gov.uk
966:Criminal Benchbook
907:www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca
831:suspended sentence
549:absolute discharge
262:Capital punishment
254:Dangerous offender
141:Self-incrimination
86:Criminal procedure
1094:. 22 October 2020
997:New Straits Times
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687:Thirsk rail crash
666:England and Wales
660:England and Wales
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405:Criminal defenses
347:Habitual offender
298:Three-strikes law
288:Life imprisonment
267:Execution warrant
136:Exclusionary rule
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1163:Punishments
976:5 September
948:5 September
642:New Zealand
342:Exoneration
1157:Categories
1098:2023-07-26
1002:2024-03-16
888:2013-05-12
838:References
743:indictment
731:admonition
362:Recidivism
236:Guidelines
201:Sentencing
186:Not proven
176:Conviction
121:Jury trial
106:Fair trial
1040:R v Patel
862:April 18,
806:June 2020
777:does not
727:Scots law
674:R v Patel
649:marijuana
628:Riza Aziz
597:probation
564:Australia
534:discharge
492:UK courts
455:US courts
321:Probation
231:Discharge
221:Custodial
216:Suspended
211:Mandatory
181:Acquittal
111:Pre-trial
60:June 2013
48:talk page
1141:Archived
1066:31 March
721:Scotland
695:dementia
610:Malaysia
583:sentence
538:sentence
415:Evidence
249:Totality
226:Periodic
42:You may
939:Act 593
798:removed
783:sources
424:Portals
166:Verdict
126:Counsel
1123:4 July
944:. 2006
579:Canada
573:Canada
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357:Pardon
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326:Tariff
316:Parole
156:Appeal
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970:(PDF)
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542:court
241:Guilt
50:, or
1125:2012
1068:2019
978:2003
950:2023
864:2016
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151:Bail
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