Legal Definitions - plea in discharge

A plea in discharge is a formal defense argument made by a defendant in a legal case, asserting that they should be released or excused from the current accusation, charge, or liability due to a specific legal reason or prior event. This type of plea doesn't necessarily argue innocence of the *act* itself, but rather that the defendant is legally *discharged* from the obligation to answer for it, often because a prior legal action or status has already resolved the matter.

• Example 1 (Criminal - Pardon):

  Imagine a person who was convicted of a federal offense several years ago. The President of the United States later issues a full and unconditional pardon specifically for that crime. If, due to an administrative oversight or a new legal interpretation, prosecutors attempt to bring new charges or impose further penalties related to that same pardoned offense, the individual's legal counsel would file a plea in discharge.

  This illustrates a plea in discharge because the presidential pardon legally erases the guilt and punishment for the crime, thereby discharging the individual from any further legal responsibility or accusation related to it. The plea asserts this prior legal action as a complete defense.

• Example 2 (Criminal - Immunity):

  Consider a witness who is compelled to testify before a grand jury investigating a complex financial fraud. To ensure their testimony, the prosecution grants them "transactional immunity," meaning they cannot be prosecuted for any crimes revealed in their testimony. If, at a later date, prosecutors attempt to charge this individual based on information they provided under that immunity, their defense attorney would enter a plea in discharge.

  Here, the transactional immunity legally discharges the individual from prosecution for the specific acts covered by the immunity grant. The plea in discharge argues that the prior grant of immunity makes any subsequent charges for those acts legally invalid, thus discharging the defendant from having to face them.

• Example 3 (Civil - Bankruptcy Discharge):

  Suppose a small business owner files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and after the legal process, their unsecured debts, including a significant outstanding loan from a supplier, are legally discharged by the bankruptcy court. Several months later, the supplier mistakenly files a lawsuit against the business owner to collect that very same discharged debt. The owner's attorney would respond to the lawsuit with a plea in discharge.

  This demonstrates a plea in discharge because the bankruptcy court's discharge order legally extinguishes the debt, meaning the business owner is no longer legally obligated to pay it. The plea in discharge asserts this prior legal discharge as a complete and valid defense against the new lawsuit, arguing that the owner has already been legally discharged from that financial obligation.