Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Vive Patrice Cormier Libre!

(clarified below!)

From Lord Black's venerable Canuckistani newspaper the National Post:

Former Quebec Major Junior Hockey League forward Patrice Cormier pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of assault causing bodily harm and received an unconditional discharge.

HMMMM. What does this mean, "unconditional discharge?" Canada and its funny old Empire Loyalist laws...

We think it means he won't serve jail time, that he'll have to deal with the Man stone-cold probation-spying on him all the time, making him pay a fine, etc. (<---read below, kids)

So there won't be any Thrashers in jail anytime soon. Not unless the authorities find out about the secretly infamous Ron Hainsey Jewel Heist of 2008.

******
CLARIFICATION from Chronicle legal correspondent/actual lawyer Razor Catch Prey:

Unconditional discharge, if the terminology translates logically from Beaverite to American, would mean that he has plead guilty but will receive no punishment, not be on probation, and his record will not reflect a conviction.

Conversely, CONDITIONAL discharge here means that you are required to serve a period of time on probation and complete several conditions. If you fulfill all of your obligations and do not violate probation, then your record will reflect a dismissal and your record may be expunged.

These procedures are reserved for first time offenders on minor charges.
Read more in the comments below!

1 comment:

Razor Catch Prey said...

Unconditional discharge, if the terminology translates logically from Beaverite to American, would mean that he has plead guilty but will receive no punishment, not be on probation, and his record will not reflect a conviction.

Conversely, CONDITIONAL discharge here means that you are required to serve a period of time on probation and complete several conditions. If you fulfill all of your obligations and do not violate probation, then your record will reflect a dismissal and your record may be expunged.

These procedures are reserved for first time offenders on minor charges. It's not surprising that the prosecutors offered that kind of deal in a case involving a hockey game. It would be very difficult to convince a jury to convict in that situation.

Now, a civil suit on the other hand would have a very good chance of returning a verdict against Cormier.