definition of discharge in criminal law
To be considered in the best interests of the accused, the conviction and criminal record must have significant repercussions on the individual. DISCHARGE OF A JURY. In equity practice. Learn more about this and related topics at FindLaw's Criminal Law section. Another situation may be an accused person who while found guilty of a crime which caused little or no harm or threat to society, and found himself or herself significantly adversely affected by the commission of the crime. The writing containing the order for his being so set at liberty is also called a “discharge.” Always looking up definitions? For purposes of New York and New Jersey State ethics rules, please take notice that this website and its case reviews may constitute attorney advertising. The dismissal of a jury who had been charged with the trial of a cause. The act by which a person in confinement, held on an accusation of some crime or misdemeanor, is set at liberty. How to use discharge in a sentence. Criminal law, the body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders.
So solid is a discharge that if the Crown ever tried to reopen criminal proceedings against the person so discharged, he/she could raise and successfully plead and shield themselves using autrefois acquit. • Also a term used in bankruptcy law referring to a bankrupt who has been released from the terms or conditions set out in his or her bankruptcy order; the common term, a discharged bankrupt, is an oxymoron. It is possible that the law may not apply to you and may have changed from the time a post was made. 1 N. & M. 36; 3 McCord, 461. Constructive Discharge Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary When an employee quits a job because working conditions are so intolerable that a reasonable person in the same situation would quit. The code contains elaborate details about the procedure to be followed in every investigation, inquiry and trial, for every offence under the IPC or any other law. contracts. TheLaw.com Law Dictionary & Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed. The opposite of charge; hence to release; liberate; annul; unburden; disincumber. Certificate of Discharge Law and Legal Definition A certificate of discharge is a written statement that one party has discharged its obligation to the other party who accepts the discharge. Discharge Hearing discharge hearing see hearing. 2C:36A-1. To cancel or unloose the obligation of a contract; to make an agreement or contract null and inoperative. Can't find the legal word, term, phrase or abbreviation that you're seeking in our dictionary? If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Law Dictionary, or if you have suggestion for a legal term, we'd love to hear from you! To discharge a person is to liberate him from the binding force of an obligation, debt or claim. In Sentencing Drug Offenders, the authors wrote: Canada's Criminal Code or other statutes which described offenses, may specifically provide for minimum penalties for specified offenses such as, for example, impaired driving. Most discharges are conditional. Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). There is no basis for a discharge if the accused is found to be innocent. In the first place the plaintiff has a remedy against the property of the defendant, acquired after his discharge, and, in the last case, against the executors or administrators of the debtor. Save time with our search provider (modern browsers only). All information available on our site is available on an "AS-IS" basis. (C) To terminate an employee, contractor, agent or representative. And here also the term is generic; thus a debt, a mortgage, a legacy, may be discharged by payment or performance, or by any act short of that, lawful in itself, which the creditor accepts as sufficient. Conditional discharge. The definition and terms for Conditional Discharge in New Jersey are contained under N.J.S.A. 2. It should be noted that for a discharge to be even considered by a court, a finding of guilt is necessary. In the law of contracts. A discharge is a type of sentence imposed by a court whereby no punishment is imposed. Discharge by operation of law is where the discharge takes place, whether it was intended by the parties or not; thus, if a creditor appoints his debtor his executor, the debt is discharged by operation of law, because the executor cannot have an action against himself. 2C:36A-1. § 921 (a) (20) (B) (“What constitutes a conviction of such a crime shall be determined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held.”). 14-415.1, a question our state courts have never expressly resolved. 2. Once discharged, a person is no longer a bankrupt. The act by which a person in confinement, under some legal process, or held on an accusation of some crime or misdemeanor, is set at liberty; the writing containing the order for his being so set at liberty, is also called a discharge. A conditional discharge means your record won’t show a conviction if you meet conditions the judge sets. 475.245. The accused is then put to trial for framing of charges against him, by the Court. In bankruptcy practice. In the process of accounting before a master in chancery, the discharge is a statement of expenses and counter-claims brought in and filed, by way of set-off, by the accounting defendant; which follows the charge in order. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. (A) practice. A discharge, whether absolute or conditional, might also prove significantly relevant in subsequent or ongoing immigration proceedings. A discharge is unlikely if the offender had a previous conviction as only well-motivated persons ought to qualify. Michigan Law On Accidentally Discharging a Firearm. In civil practice. A discharge is the act or instrument by which a contract or agreement is ended. Blackwood v. Brown; 29 Mich. 484; Rangely v. Spring, 28 Me. Conditional Discharge Law: N.J.S.A. Assault and battery often bring up images of the typical fight or brawl, but the terms are actually two separate legal concepts with distinct elements. Learn more about the principles and types of criminal law in this article. Thereafter the accused is put to trial for framing of charges against him, by the concerned Court. Additionally, felony negligent discharge of a firearm is considered a serious felony and will count as a strike on your record. In maritime law. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Legal Disclaimer: The content appearing on our website is for general information purposes only. This section of NJ law outlines the requirements to avoid a criminal record through completion of conditional discharge probation. The guarantee is entitled to receive…, After a debtor loses a lawsuit against a creditor, the court may order that property…, (A) practice. An absolute discharge will appear on your criminal record for one year and a conditional discharge will appear on your criminal record for 3 years. In R v Knowlton, Judge LeGrandeur of the Alberta Provincial Court granted a conditional discharge even though the accused: As stated in Proulx, the significant benefit of a discharge is that the accused will have no record of the conviction or, in other words, no criminal record although the police and the courthouse keeps a record of the discharge so that in the event of a future conviction, information regarding the previous discharge will be made available to the court. A certificate of discharge may be given for different purposes. The absolution of a party charged with a crime or misdemeanor. When you submit a question or make a comment on our site or in our law forum, you clearly imply that you are interested in receiving answers, opinions and responses from other people. Absolute discharges are infrequent. Lacking a clear definition, the court considered whether a conditional discharge would count as a conviction for purposes of North Carolina’s state felon-in-possession law, G.S. 2. But when the discharge is in consequence of the insolvent laws, or the defendant dies in prison, the debt is not satisfied. There is also in occasional use a form of “discharge without honor,” which implies censure, but is not in itself a punishment. It is also known as satisfaction piece or satisfaction. © Copyright 1995 - 2015 TheLaw.com LLC. However, police and prosecutors are far less likely to think the discharge was an “accident,” given the Michigan law. To discharge a rule, an order, an injunction, a certificate, process of execution, or in general any proceeding in a court, is to cancel or annul it, or to revoke it, or to refuse to confirm its original provisional force.To discharge a jury is to relieve them from any further consideration of a cause. 413. Co. In criminal practice. ACQUITTAL, crim. It is not a substitute for professional legal assistance. In military law. (B) contracts. 2. canlii.org/en/ab/abpc/doc/2005/2005abpc29/2005abpc29.html. (b) Any person who commits an act prohibited by subsection (a) with respect to an occupied dwelling or building or railroad locomotive or railroad car, aircraft, automobile, truck or watercraft shall be deemed guilty of a Class B felony as defined by the state criminal code, and upon conviction, shall be punished as prescribed by law. Unlawful discharge laws typically punish the unlawful firing of a firearm, such as a pistol or shotgun, but they may also apply to other weapons such as crossbows, blowguns, and BB or pellet guns. victim sent certified letter to court saying son did not touch her physically or steal anything. If you fail to meet the conditions, the discharge may be revoked and you could be subsequently convicted. Discharge application is the remedy provided to the person who has been charged maliciously. In any event, the granting or not of a discharge, absolute or conditional, is a matter of considerable judicial discretion and might even be available in the case of assault which resulted in serious bodily harm. View bio Conditional discharge is a legal judgment that essentially states that a defendant is guilty of a minor crime; however, the defendant is not … 486; Certain Logs of Mahogany, 5 Fed. In some situations, there may be little or no harm to a particular victim and the conduct of the accused while criminal by definition, a trivial or unintentional crime and not a threat to society. ¹. Acquittals are of two kinds, in fact and in law. Under Penal Code 246.3 PC, you commit the crime of negligent discharge of a firearm if you willfully discharge a firearm, in a grossly negligent manner, that could result in someone’s injury or death. • The discharge is a fairly rare sentence in criminal law and is generally reserved for those particular situations which might warrant a discharge; either an absolute discharge - one with no conditions; or a conditional discharge. Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. 3. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer. He is entitled to acquittal if the evidence provided to the court is not sufficient to prove the offence. Before making any decision or accepting any legal advice, you should have a proper legal consultation with a licensed attorney with whom you have an attorney-client privilege. (1) (a) Whenever a person is charged with an offense listed in subsection (5) of this section, the court, with the consent of the district attorney and the person, may defer further proceedings and place the person on probation. You will not be on probation. Where an employment contract requires termination only for cause, a terminated employee can sue for arbitrary discharge. Absolute discharge - no further action is taken, since either the offence was very minor, or the court considers that the experience has been enough of a deterrent. Discharge is a generic term; its principal species are rescission, release, accord and satisfaction, performance, judgment, composition, bankruptcy, merger, (q. v.) Leake, Cont. By it he is released from the obligation of all his debts which were or might be proved in the proceedings, so that they are no lpnger a charge upon him, and so that he may thereafter engage in business and acquire property without its being liable for the satisfaction of such former debts. For purposes of a discrimination or harassment lawsuit, a constructive discharge is like any other tangible employment action. The discharge of the bankrupt is the step which regularly follows the adjudication of bankruptcy and the administration of his estate. The law states that: Definition of Coercion The broad definition of coercion is "the use of express or implied threats of violence or reprisal (as discharge from employment) or other intimidating behavior that puts a person in immediate fear of the consequences in order to compel that person to … Add or request a definition by filling out the short form below! Ed. If the false allegations have been made against him, he can file an application for discharge. Absolute Discharge. Contracts may be discharged by,…, (A) contracts. A conditional discharge allows a defendant who pleads guilty or is found guilty to be placed on probation without entry of judgment. The court made that determination by considering whether a conditional discharge is a conviction as a matter of state law, as required under 18 U.S.C. Legal Question in Criminal Law in Ohio warrant to discharge sent son was picked up on 2 felony warrants. In these cases, discharges are not available. An…, The act of making a contract or agreement null. Technically speaking, acquittal is - the absolution of a party accused on a trial before a traverse jury. That which is given to execute what has been promised; or it is…, A person who has committed an act of bankruptcy; one who has done some act…. A mortgage is discharged if it has been carried out to the full extent originally contemplated or … As a noun, the word means the act or instrument by which the binding force of a contract is terminated, irrespective of whether the contract is carried out to the full extent contemplated (in which case the discharge is the result of performance) or is broken off before complete execution. If a person accepts a Crown offer for a discharge, they are still required to admit facts that would meet the essential elements of the crime and are therefore found guilty by the judge. 662; Kimball v. Kimball, 14 Fed. If the defendant fails, the court enters judgment and sentences the defendant. Discharge Definition: A sentence of a person found guilty of a crime in which that person does not receive a criminal record of conviction, either absolutely or conditionally. An entry made on the record, by which a party in whose favor…. The unlading or unlivery of a cargo from a vessel. (a) Except as otherwise required by section 60.05, the court may impose a sentence of conditional discharge for an offense if the court, having regard to the nature and circumstances of the offense and to the history, character and condition of the defendant, is of the opinion that neither the public interest nor the ends of justice would be served by a sentence of imprisonment and that … Unlawful discharge laws prohibit firing any weapon in certain areas or under specific circumstances, such as firing from a moving vehicle, firing across a state highway, or firing into or at an occupied building. Discharge under Section 239 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 The general process of law is that after the police on completing its investigation, files the final charge sheet against the accused. 151. The Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 is the procedural law providing the machinery for the punishment of offenders under substantive criminal law. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. The Bird of Paradise v. Heyneniah, 5 Wall. All Rights Reserved, (A) The practice of being a surety or guarantor on an agreement. In addition to the standard penalties for the crime, California law also allows for sentencing enhancements. Co. The release or dismissal of a soldier, sailor, or marine, from further military service, either at the expiration of his term of enlistment, or previous thereto on special application therefor, or as a punishment. This is done when the continuance of the trial is, by any cause, rendered Impossible; also when the jury, after deliberation, cannot agree on a verdict. 2. Discharge definition is - to relieve of a charge, load, or burden:. A “dishonorable” discharge is a dismissal from the service for bad conduct or as a punishment imposed by sentence of a court-martial for offenses against the military law. He lo whom a guaranty is made. Synonym Discussion of discharge. sa., when made by the plaintiff, has the operation of satisfying the debt, the plaintiff having no other remedy. A judge may impose a discharge for any criminal offence where there is not a specific statutory provision stating otherwise. (B) When a court issues an order releasing an executor or administrator from duties required in the probate of an estate. Discharge of an Accused in a Criminal Case The usual procedure in a criminal case is that if the police investigation shows there is a prima facie criminal offence against the accused, then a final police report (Charge Sheet/Challan) is filed. ORS. The act by which a person in confinement, under some legal process, or held on an accusation of some crime or misdemeanor, is set at liberty; the writing containing the order for his being so set at liberty, is also called a discharge. Conditional Discharge Law and Legal Definition Conditional discharge is a form of deferred adjudication in which the sentence is served with probationary conditions attached, under which the full penalty may be reinstated upon a violation of the terms of probation during the stated probationary period. An “honorable” discharge is one granted at the end of an enlistment and accompanied by an official certificate of good conduct during the service. A discharge is granted to an individual, otherwise an upstanding member of society, who would be significantly harmed by a criminal record. The discharge of a defendant, in prison under a ca. Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition. The people providing legal help and who respond are volunteers who may not be lawyers, legal professionals or have any legal training or experience. Wrongful termination. domestic violence and prior conviction and aggravated burglary. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. (B) To perform one’s duty or satisfy obligations. (D) To terminate debt obligations in bankruptcy. The discharge of one's debt as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding. There are two types of discharge. An absolute discharge means your record won’t show a conviction. The law is also subject to change from time to time and legal statutes and regulations vary between states. wrongful discharge: discharge of an employee for illegal reasons or for reasons that are contrary to public policy (as in retaliation for the employee's refusal to engage in unlawful activity) b: a release from service or duty . Questions frequently arise, whether if the court discharges a jury before they render a verdict in a criminal case, the prisoner can again be tried. The law regarding discharges of firearms is titled MCL §752.863a, and can be found here. These enhancements will occur if the discharge of a firearm was done in connection with gang-related activities. It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. If the defendant succeeds on probation, the court dismisses the conviction. The accused had pleaded guilty or been found guilty but, nonetheless, he is deemed not to have been convicted of the offence. Related Terms:
A discharge means the judge finds you guilty, but then discharges you instead of convicting you.. law practice. A fired employee's claim that the firing breached an employment contract or some public law. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. 3/4/09 docet says warrant to discharge,warrant to discharge prisoner. 557, 18 li. The 2008 edition of Canada’s Criminal Code states: To ensure that judges some flexibility in the use of this extraordinary sentence, a discharge may be an absolute discharge or a conditional discharge. As applied to demands, claims, rights of action, Incumbrances, etc., to discharge the debt or claim is to extinguish It, to annul Its obligatory force, to satisfy it. Some judges use discharges to make political statements on laws they believe are outdated such as, for example, the judicial attitude on the use of recreational drugs. Cas. The Fourth Circuit concluded that it would not.