First of all hi to everyone,
Let´s see is somebody can give me a hand with this. I got a client who was given a conditional discharge eleven years ago for a drugs related matter. The guy has behaved himself since them, and has even managed to complete two BA degrees succesfully. Now he wants to go into teaching in the UK but he doesn´t know if he can do it because of his conditional discharge.
According to the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000:
Without prejudice to subsections (1) and (2) above, the conviction of an offender who is discharged absolutely or conditionally under section 12 above shall in any event be disregarded for the purposes of any enactment or instrument which—
(a)imposes any disqualification or disability upon convicted persons; or
(b)authorises or requires the imposition of any such disqualification or disability.
Furthermore, according to the same document a conditional discharge cannot really be considered a conviction:
a conviction of an offence for which an order is made under section 12 above discharging the offender absolutely or conditionally 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 any subsequent proceedings which may be taken against the offender under section 13 above.
My question is:
Does he have to disclose he was convicted if asked (and he will be asked) or he doesn´t need to do it because a conditional discharge is not considered a conviction?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Iván

