Sentence of unconditional discharge · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 65.20 Sentence of unconditional discharge.
1. Criteria. The court may impose a sentence of unconditional discharge in any case where it is authorized to impose a sentence of conditional discharge under section 65.05 if the court is of the opinion that no proper purpose would be served by imposing any condition upon the defendant's release.
When a sentence of unconditional discharge is imposed for a felony, the court shall set forth in the record the reasons for its action.
2. Sentence. When the court imposes a sentence of unconditional discharge, the defendant shall be released with respect to the conviction for which the sentence is imposed without imprisonment, fine or probation supervision. A sentence of unconditional discharge is for all purposes a final judgment of conviction.
A court that could impose conditional discharge under § 65.05 may instead give an unconditional discharge when no release condition would serve a proper purpose. The defendant is released without imprisonment, a fine, or probation supervision, but the disposition remains a final judgment of conviction; for a felony, the court must state its reasons on the record. ★
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Court Clerk in Plain English; Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.