Simple legal question

[dauerbach]

Is PBJ the equivalent of a conviction?

[friedo]

I have very strong convictions about PBJ, to wit: chunky only, please.

[sub]What’s PBJ?[/sub]

[Giles]

Wikipedia says:

PBJ may stand for:

* Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
* Progressive Black & Journalists, Progressive Black & Journalists
* ht25 Mitchell, the US Navy designation for a type of bomber
* Peter Blundell Jones, British architect and academic
* Peter, Bjorn and John, a Swedish indie pop band.
* Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, governor-elect of Louisiana
* [Practicing Bad Judgement], an Ohio aerosol art collective 

I don’t think any of those are the equivalent of a conviction.

[Little_Nemo]

It’s a Probation Before Judgement. But I can’t answer the equivalency question.

[Little_Nemo]

Are you in Maryland or Delaware? All of the PBJ information I’m finding online is coming from those two states. If so, then the answer is a PBJ is not the equivalent of a conviction assuming you complete the terms.

[dauerbach]

How interesting that all the information is coming from Maryland or Delaware. I live in Maryland, so it seems as though it is not considered a conviction here.

[Doctor_Who]

Here’s what Delaware says:

What is probation before judgment?

Probation before judgment (PBJ) provides a means for a first offender to avoid having a conviction entered against him or her. PBJ works as follows:

* The offender enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
* The Court defers further proceedings and the entry of a judgment of conviction against the offender.
* The Court places the offender on probation for a period of time with such terms and conditions as the Court decides are appropriate.
* If the offender complies with the terms and conditions, at the end of the period of probation, no conviction will be entered on the record.

Bolding mine. From here.

[dauerbach]

Thanks for the cite.

[Polycarp]

Related abbreviations from other states:

ACD: Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, which translates to “keep your nose clean for a year, and the case goes away” (is dismissed).

PJC: Prayer for Judgment Continued. As I understand it (and lawyers from states using it, please correct), it translates to, “Enter a guilty plea, and we’ll hold the fact you did and the punishment you ought to receive in abeyance for a year. Keep your nose clean, and it goes away.” Slightly different from PBJ and ACD in that it’s an actual conviction, but one that doesn’t “count.”

Essentially all four parts of a 2X2 grid are filled in by these three pleas and traditional justice:

Traditional: Verdict or plea of guilty, sentence imposed

ACD: No plea or verdict taken, no sentence imposed – a dismissal conditional on no legal trouble within a year

PBJ: Plea or verdict may or may not be taken (depending on jurisdiction), but sentence (of probation) imposed

PJC: Plea of guilty taken, but not formalized as an actual conviction, and no sentence imposed.

[Gfactor]

Some states call it Deferred Acceptance of Guilty Plea (usually abbreviated DAG)

[Northern_Piper]

The various posts illustrate an important misconception in the OP: there are no simple legal questions.