Legal Definitions - abatement ab initio

Abatement ab initio is a principle in criminal law that essentially nullifies a criminal conviction from the very beginning if the convicted individual dies while their direct appeal of that conviction is still pending. The term "ab initio" is Latin for "from the beginning."

This rule ensures that a person is not considered legally convicted if they were unable to fully exercise their right to have their appeal heard and decided by a higher court. If a defendant dies before exhausting all avenues of direct appeal, the conviction is treated as if it never happened, and the legal proceedings related to that conviction are brought to an end.

Here are some examples illustrating how abatement ab initio applies:

• Example 1: Mr. Henderson was convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to a term of imprisonment. He firmly believed there were significant errors in his trial and promptly filed an appeal with the state's intermediate appellate court. While his legal team was preparing for oral arguments before the appellate judges, Mr. Henderson suffered a fatal heart attack. Because he died while his direct appeal was actively pending, his conviction for tax fraud would be abated ab initio, meaning it would be legally erased as if it never occurred.

• Example 2: Ms. Chen was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of shoplifting and received a sentence of probation and a fine. Convinced of her innocence and believing the evidence presented against her was insufficient, she filed an appeal to challenge the verdict. Before the appellate court could review the case and issue a decision, Ms. Chen was tragically killed in an unrelated car accident. Under the rule of abatement ab initio, her conviction for shoplifting would be nullified because her death occurred during the direct appeal process.

• Example 3: A defendant, Mr. Davies, was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to a lengthy prison term. He filed an appeal with the state's court of appeals, which ultimately upheld his conviction. Dissatisfied with this outcome, Mr. Davies then filed a petition for review with the state's supreme court, the highest court in the state, which was still deliberating whether to accept his case for review when he passed away due to a long-term illness. Even though his initial appeal was denied, his petition to the state's highest court was still part of his direct appeal process. Therefore, his conviction would be abated ab initio, as he died before exhausting all levels of direct appeal.