Frederic DiMaria is an experienced criminal defense attorney specializing in marijuana cases. He serves on the NORML-NJ Board of Trustees.
The Conditional Discharge: What is it?
By Frederic DiMaria, Jr., Esq., Chairman, NORML-NJ
The Conditional Discharge (CD) is one-time-use-only form of Pre-Trial Intervention, pertaining specifically to simple marijuana offenses in New Jersey. When you receive a conditional discharge, it means that you have agreed to get placed in a probation-like monitored program (conditional discharge program) for a period of up to one year or more, and have agreed to pay harsh fines (greater than $700) — in return for the State dropping the drug charge at the end of the conditional discharge period and, if successfully completed, ultimately having no conviction on your record.
While in the Conditional Discharge program, prosecution of the charges will be put on hold by the Court and you will have a conditional discharge officer who you will be required to report to, and who will administer, at whim, multiple random urine tests for drugs over the conditional discharge period. Each conditional discharge officer is different and methods differ between counties and people. Some test frequently. Others do not test at all.
In order for the charges to get dismissed, you must successfully complete (to the satisfaction of the conditional discharge officer) the conditional discharge program which basically means that you report to your conditional discharge officer when he/she requires, you take (and pass) urine tests when requested and you stay out of trouble. You must not be convicted of another offense during the conditional discharge period. If you fail to complete the program for any reason, the Court will renew its prosecution of the original charges.
If you successfully complete the program to the satisfaction of the probation officer, the Court will ultimately drop the original charges and your record will remain free of a drug conviction. The arrest will still be on your record, but you will likely be able to get that removed through a process known as expungement.
If you are conditional discharge eligible, you can request a Conditional Discharge from the Court. Eligibility depends upon multiple factors. A past conviction of a drug offense in New Jersey or any other State, or the past use of the Conditional Discharge program in New Jersey will make you ineligible for the program. If the Court places you in the Conditional Discharge program, the Court will order you to pay the fines set by the Court (again, expect to pay more than $700) and the Court will make you fill out paperwork before you leave. The Court will then give you further instructions.
NOTE: Like a get-out-of-jail-free card in Monopoly, you can only participate in the Conditional Discharge program once. After you use it, it can never be used again.
Many people find the Conditional Discharge program a more palatable outcome than being found guilty of marijuana possession since the Conditional Discharge will not result in loss of a New Jersey driver’s license nor will it result in a criminal record. However, in the opinion of this author the conditional discharge should be utilized as a last resort when other defenses are not available, as the conditional discharge can be an uncomfortable process for someone engaged in a marijuana prevalent lifestyle and can certainly substantially interfere with one’s life.
* Tell us in comments on this blog what other marijuana related legal topics we can address here at NORML-NJ.
I beleive the pre-trial intervention is just a way for the judical system to get your money, screw up your life and without having to actually do anything themselves,… if you take a look at what your rights are worth in New Jersey,… you will see that, you really dont have any if you are arrersted for possesion of any drug. They can charge you with posseion of 3 grams of marijuana just like its 3 grams of herion. They can lie to you at any point of your intake procedure, telling you that you are definetly going to jail and things like that if you dont help them in their investigations. so,.. just for the record,.. your get out of jail card theory is a bit maligned,… there is no get out of anything in this state,.. once they have you, they have you. Unless you are fortunate enough to have the funds for a big-wig attorney that doesnt care about what “they” think they can do to him.
the system is corrupt and its not something the average bear can count on,… PTI is only probation and that is just as corrupt and mis-managed as the rest of our so-called government.
will it be on ur criminal record or will there be no record of it?
I don’t think it is suppose to generally be on your record, but when I was accepted into it a couple years ago I was told that I’d probably be unable to get a government jobs or work in law enforcement because there is still some record of it. However, none of the regular jobs I’ve gotten following finishing PTI have mentioned the arrest coming up in my background check.
Again, this was confusing to me too. The judge, my public defender, and both of the probation officers I had while on PTI gave me conflicting answers, with some saying that I had to petition the court to get it removed, if I completed it (I never did though).
Also, man watch NJ their dirty, and try and play you out. After my trial they told me probation started, but after not receiving any notification for two months I called them to have them say that those months didn’t count then. Following that my first P.O. told me damn you have a job, you have a 3.9gpa in college, and just seemed to get “mixed up in the wrong crowd” and vowed that she would try and get me off after 7 months of the 12 I was originally assigned as long as I continued. After 7 months I was switched to another P.O., who said that I would only have to come one more time to be discharged. I almost began smoking again, but glad I didn’t because the next time I saw him he said that would never happen, and that I might end up being on probation for 1yrs & 4 months total because I never signed into an outpatient or impatient addiction program which needed to be completed at my expense ($35 a week). I disagreed, not understanding how they could force me into treatment after coming up clean on ALL of the drug tests they gave me, but eventually went to my local YMCA. There the counselor agreed with me and even went to lengths to try and get me out of the substance abuse program ASAP, even going as far as to write letters and try and reach my P.O. who never returned his calls, and tried to deny receiving the letters at first.
All in all I ended up paying $1000 fine, getting 75hrs community service, paid $35 a week for about 5 months to go to counseling, forced to go to 2-3 N.A. meetings a week, and paid a couple hundred dollars worth of court costs and public defender fees. I ended up “officially” being on probation a little over one year and two months, or 1 year 4 months if you count the two months in the beginning they said it didn’t start yet.
what if you fail the drug test your first time??