UPDATE: Governor Christie Conditionally Vetoes Conditional Discharge Legislation

A condition discharge is what the name  implies.  The charges against a defendant are dismissed if the defendant meets certain conditions.   For a the first time drug offender this usually means staying drug free for a court specified period of time and submit to random drug testing.   any further arrests during the probationary period would also violate the conditions for successful completion of the program. Under current law, the only offenses eligible for a conditional discharge are certain drug-related offenses.  S-2169 allows discharge for many non-drug offenses, such as disorderly person’s offenses, which have not been able to participate in similar programs before.

I am unwilling to limit access to meaningful and necessary alternatives to traditional criminal justice adjudication to only those able to pay steep costs and increased fees. Our government must not only produce creative solutions to our problems, it must do so within its available means. We can, and will, find ways to improve the lives of all our citizens without raising costs. Therefore, I recommend maintaining the existing $75.00 fee for pre-trial intervention and conditional discharge programs, and setting the fee for conditional dismissal in municipal court at the same rate of $75.00.”