36:
446:
779:
679:, 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
765:
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.
764:
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
844:
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
756:, 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.
716:
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
579:
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.
562:
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
657:
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
613:
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
759:
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
570:
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.
695:
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
625:
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
605:
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
691:
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.
700:, 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,
845:
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.
596:
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
708:
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
601:(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
839:
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
687:
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
745:
658:
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
1097:
863:
530:
1151:
728:
In 2008, 9,734 offenders were given absolute discharges (0.7% of sentences) and 87,722 offenders were given conditional discharges (6% of sentences).
662:, the small nature of the crime compared to the effects a conviction, without a sentence, would have may cause him to discharged without conviction.
617:
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.
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offence and breach of probation. If the conditions of the discharge are met, it becomes an absolute discharge.
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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):
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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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charges over US$ 248 million (RM1.25 billion), he had misappropriated from sovereign wealth fund
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appropriate may without proceeding to conviction make an order discharging him absolutely.
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was found to have sexually abused a choirboy, but a stroke and the onset of
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but the accused may be charged again with the same offence in the future.
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721:" offenders. The law on discharges is set out in Part 5 of the
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was discharged not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) from five
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914:"RCMP Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services"
974:
Lack, Julie. "Discharge Under
Criminal Procedure Code".
45:
deal primarily with common law and do not represent a
1004:"Riza Aziz gets DNAA for money laundering charges"
717:applies, including certain firearms offences and "
1165:
861:
630:(DNAA) under section 254. In the latter case
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43:The examples and perspective in this article
807:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
1040:, 22 October 2023, 2020 c. 17 (s. 82)
531:
517:
827:Learn how and when to remove this message
81:Learn how and when to remove this message
628:discharge not amounting to an acquittal
14:
1166:
1065:
746:Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
1028:"Sentencing Act 2020: Section 82"
1001:
1149:Sections 246 and 247 of the 1995 Act
1126:. Sentencing Council. Archived from
805:adding citations to reliable sources
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689:Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
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632:proceedings on the charge are stayed
29:
610:for a period of up to three years.
24:
862:Joshua Robertson (18 April 2016).
599:Canadian Police Information Centre
555:whereby no punishment is imposed.
25:
1200:
983:. High Court of Sabah and Sarawak
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27:Court sentence with no punishment
1002:Karim, Khairah N. (2020-05-14).
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1055:[2006] EWCA Crim 2689
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57:, discuss the issue on the
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488: English/Welsh courts
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142:Presumption of innocence
563:plea of the defendant.
304:Indefinite imprisonment
1154:June 25, 2008, at the
889:"Sentencing in Canada"
637:For example, in 2020,
363:Miscarriage of justice
1103:The National Archives
1093:"Sentencing Act 2020"
1038:The National Archives
568:conditional discharge
388:Sex offender registry
108:Rights of the accused
18:Conditional discharge
1130:on 28 September 2012
801:improve this section
711:Member of Parliament
603:Criminal Records Act
474:English/Welsh courts
402:Related areas of law
63:create a new article
55:improve this article
1098:legislation. gov.uk
723:Sentencing Act 2020
681:Sentencing Act 2020
592:, a discharge is a
383:Restorative justice
1033:legislation.gov.uk
977:Criminal Benchbook
918:www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca
842:suspended sentence
560:absolute discharge
273:Capital punishment
265:Dangerous offender
152:Self-incrimination
97:Criminal procedure
1105:. 22 October 2020
1008:New Straits Times
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698:Thirsk rail crash
677:England and Wales
671:England and Wales
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309:Three-strikes law
299:Life imprisonment
278:Execution warrant
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1174:Punishments
987:5 September
959:5 September
653:New Zealand
353:Exoneration
1168:Categories
1109:2023-07-26
1013:2024-03-16
899:2013-05-12
849:References
754:indictment
742:admonition
373:Recidivism
247:Guidelines
212:Sentencing
197:Not proven
187:Conviction
132:Jury trial
117:Fair trial
1051:R v Patel
873:April 18,
817:June 2020
788:does not
738:Scots law
685:R v Patel
660:marijuana
639:Riza Aziz
608:probation
575:Australia
545:discharge
503:UK courts
466:US courts
332:Probation
242:Discharge
232:Custodial
227:Suspended
222:Mandatory
192:Acquittal
122:Pre-trial
71:June 2013
59:talk page
1152:Archived
1077:31 March
732:Scotland
706:dementia
621:Malaysia
594:sentence
549:sentence
426:Evidence
260:Totality
237:Periodic
53:You may
950:Act 593
809:removed
794:sources
435:Portals
177:Verdict
137:Counsel
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368:Pardon
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167:Appeal
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252:Guilt
61:, or
1136:2012
1079:2019
989:2003
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683:and
162:Bail
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