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This question was closed without grading. Reason: No acceptable answer
Spanish to English translations [PRO] Law/Patents - Law (general)
Spanish term or phrase:cancelacion de antecedentes
Three years after a suspended sentence. The sentence is up, as in, the person hasn't had any more run-ins with the police and therefore is no longer under the threat of the suspended sentence. Not the same as having your criminal record cleared, I believe. I do not know what this is called in English. Thanks in advance for your help. :) For UK please.
Hi guys. Thanks for your fantastic help and in-depth discussion on this one: as I believe this is something to do with "spent sentences", I need to close without grading. I am waiting for the author's response. I will reopen on add further information if it will be useful to others, or if I need to award points to someone. Thanks again everyone. I very much appreciate the help. :)
Upon seeing the knowledgeable input from our colleagues, I would use an uncommon legal term or the original Spanish word with an extended TN on Spanish law concerning 'cancelacion de antecedents'. This is a place for erudition for effect (his lawyer) and you have the resources avalaible.
By the way, I have already posted as much as I know about the concept in Spanish, and do not want to fill this page with repeating myself. The person will have a record, but not a record that can be used in court proceedings. The conviction has been wiped insofar as it cannot be used in court; nevertheless, the police will be able to see what happened on police records.
Flavio: a suspended sentence means you don't serve the sentence in prison unless you commit another crime (in which case you may well serve the suspended sentence plus a new one). It does not mean that you were not convicted, at least in the UK, which is my target audience (NOT USA). You were convicted and given a sentence, but for some reason (wife with a very sick child, extenuating circumstances, or simply a clever lawyer as in this case) you are given a chance to not serve the time. I did not say you were being difficult. I am just trying to explain a term which exists in Spanish to see if anyone knows what the equivalent is in UK English. Thanks.
I'm not trying to be difficult, Kate. I'm trying to help you. But, do you understand the conflict I'm referring to? And this is the heart of the matter. What does the author mean when he says "criminal record"? If you can clarify that, you will find the
It's very simple Philb. If someone has been convicted of a crime, he has a criminal record. If someone has NOT been convicted of a crime, for example someone who has received a suspended sentence, he does NOT have a criminal record. Any question?
Flavio: I'm sorry if you think there are too many "inconsistencies" in my question. I asked the question for the very reason that I find legal terminology quite difficult, not the least because often you are looking at different systems, in this case Spanish and UK. I am only trying to add the information I have from the author: I am not saying that my knowledge of the language means I get it perfectly right. That is why I have asked the question. In explaining the comments of my author I am sure I might confuse the terms, or that in English they are different. Please do enlighten us all if you can. As Philb says, I am just saying that, according to the author, in Spain at least this means wiping the "court" record (cannot be used in legal proceedings against the person in question) but nevertheless the police record is still there (the police can still see what you did). I hope that helps.
Philb, your reference doesn't say a suspended sentence equals a criminal record. It only says that a suspended sentence has to be revealed to an employer. In fact the subject has a conviction, read the title. Then read my explanation of suspended sentence
I agree totally with Lucia, I would tend towards Miguel's answer below - as there isn't an equivalent UK process, as far as I know. You would probably have to clarify that in some way.... as always, context is key.
What I think Kate is saying is that while this person will still have a criminal record if they can get their "court record" cancelled, then it can't be used against them in court in future.
jacana54 (X)
Uruguay
appears not to be exactly the same
22:03 Nov 11, 2008
Kate, reading Phil's explanation of "spent" sentence and comparing that with the info on the link I provided below, IMHO the difference appears to be that in Britain you don't need a declaration and in Spain you do.
What kind of record is he referring to. 1) Arrest record (NOT criminal) 2) criminal record (with a suspended sentence the isn't any)? or 3) Record of the proceedings that ended in a suspended sentence?
Now, is there a police record? If the subject was arrested yes. But that is NOT a criminal record, how many innocent people get arrested without being convicted. I think the author needs to clarify what he is talking about.
that the defendant will not be convicted unless he violates whatever terms he is supposed to comply with for a certain period of time. At the end of the period, having complied with the terms, the record is stricken. So there's no criminal record...
There are too many inconsistencies in this question. The author says first "...he has a clean record in that sense...". Then he says: "...he will still have a criminal record..." I'm I crazy or what?. As I stated above, a suspended sentence means ...
HI everyone. unbelievable help so far. Spoke to the author -he's also a lawyer- and he explained that this means that the record is cancelled in the legal/court sense, in that as it is an expired suspended sentence it can not be used against him in a court: he has a clean record in that sense. No antecedentes penales. BUT, he will still have a criminal record, a police record, where it is all registered. Make sense?
I'm not an expert on British Law, but I have read around this quite a bit. Once someone has been convicted, they have a criminal record and that can't be completely wiped out, unless their conviction is quashed.
A spent conviction does not usually have to be declared and does not show up on a "standard" Criminal Record Check (CRB check/standard disclosure).
However, for jobs working with children or vulnerable people, for example, an "enhanced" Criminal Record Check (enhanced CRB check/Enhanced disclosure) is required - this does show all spent convictions.
Likewise anyone wanting to visit the US is reminded that the rehabilitation of offenders act does not apply to US immigration requirements.
The tricky bit of this translation is that it appears that in Spain, a record of a suspended sentence can be wiped clean, while in the UK this is not possible.
Any British lawyers want to clarify/correct what I've put?
jacana54 (X)
Uruguay
I had a similar case some years ago (as a lawyer)
16:21 Nov 5, 2008
In Uruguay. I think it's quite similar to what you mention at the beginning, with your question. This person had a suspended sentence, and in his case after 5 years the "supervision period" was technically over and the offense could, by law, disappear from his record. But for him to have a clear record, we specifically had to request the court that in view of the time elapsed, etc... The point is that they do some checking before deleting.
I know very very little about British law (other than it's fairly complex) but unless you can find exactly the same institution in their system, Miguel's suggestion makes sense, IMHO. As Henry says, the exact equivalent may be difficult to find.
Yes. Thanks for your advice Henry. It seems more complicated than I thought. I will do some more research into the Spanish side, and if I can't work it out I will put a commentary on it and work it out with the author, who was a lawyer himself! Thanks again everyone! I appreciate the help. :)
Kate, you're going to have to do some research on this from both ends to make sure you have a proper legal equivalent, and even then an exact one may be difficult to find! Best of luck.
...allow defendant to be treated as if innocent & never convicted on condition of certain requirements. Thus his lawyer would petition for in 'expungement'. To gain the value of complying with prosecution's deal. This is U.S. legal, British seems diff.
... in future prosecutions if they even APPEAR in the records for a future prosecutor to find. The request is that these records of defendant be erased. The offer with 'suspended sentence', 'deferred prosecution', etc. is that the judge/prosecutor ...
Great term discussion! Please consider: Expungemnet is for innocent arrestees. Besides court records, there are police arrest records, jail records, appointed lawyer records, drug-treatment records. All could be used against the citizen in ...
Henry, I'm only going by Kate's sentence to Robert wich states "this is not the cancellation or expungement of charges: rather, the end of a suspended sentence...", and a suspended sentence without a violation of terms and conditions means no record.
Flavio, that may or may not be so. We have 50 countries here, and all their laws are different. To affirm that you would have to be an expert on all 50, plus the federal system! There may well be a criminal record to expunge.
If this is similar to a suspended sentence/summary probation in the U.S., at the end of the term the case is dismissed. So there's no criminal record to expunge.
...this is being requested or petitioned for "...había solicitado la cancelación de sus antecedentes penales", so maybe after getting off probation, Spanish law then allows the criminal record to be expunged.
I'm thinking that what may have happened here is that he just "got off probation", which is how we would say it in USA. But by language alone, "cancelación de antecedentes penales" would indicate "expungement" of his criminal record. Now...
Yes, quite right Henry. It's from Valencia, Spain. No more context except the sentence above, and the knowledge that he did not get off scott free but neither did he go to prison: which means that he got a suspended sentence. HTH
This must be researched in order to determine exactly what it means so a proper translation can be arrived at. You mention the destination (UK), but what is the ORIGIN? (CONTEXT)
More context. The narrator, a lawyer, is dealing with his friend's case: Hoy se cumplían tres años desde entonces y esa misma mañana había solicitado la cancelación de sus antecedentes penales.
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Answers
10 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
lapsing/cancellation of criminal record
Explanation: This is using the "Spain's Spanish" sense of the expression. Can be checked with the Alcaraz Varó Hughes Legal Dictionary, page 626, term "cancelación de antecedentes penales".
MikeGarcia Spain Local time: 14:26 Specializes in field Native speaker of: Spanish PRO pts in category: 654
10 hrs confidence:
expiry
Explanation: I would use a verb here - I'm not sure if you can use a noun. I must clarify that I'm not a lawyer - if a legal specialist posts here, take their word over mine.
Expiry seems to be used for any sentence - custodial or suspended.
The person will still have a criminal record for the conviction that lead to the sentence.
After a certain length of time the conviction can be described as "spent", which while is still recorded, does not normally need to be declared (unless you are applying to work with children or vulnerable people.. for example)
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 10 hrs (2008-11-05 11:42:42 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
sorry... having looked at this again... it seems that the system is rather different to the UK one - I'm pretty sure that this lawyer wants to get the sentence expunged and that this person no longer has a record in Spain. This would not be the case in the UK, so I would go for a translation of the Spanish term, rather than the UK equivalent.
Example sentence(s):
Where a person not within subsection (5) above is released from prison in pursuance of an order under this section, his sentence shall expire on his release.
Explanation: This is the term used in court and in official requests that prior charges be removed from the Record, so that officials cannot use prior charges against him in future proceedings. This is done only if the charge was later proven false. Hope it helps you in your context.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 12 hrs (2008-11-05 13:36:14 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
In the U.S., as noted, expungement is for 'innocent' defendants. But the deal in 'suspended sentences', 'deferred prosecutions' , etc. is that the judge/prosecutor will allow defendant's case to be considered as innocent or never charged in return for compliance with certain conditions. The court record is not the only one that could be used against a citizen in future prosecutions/investigations, or by future employers in hiring considerations. There are police investigation/arrest records, jail records, drug rehab center records that even the mention of in future court hearings would prejudice the defendant's case, or could otrpedo a prospective good job opportunity. Expungement petitions in the U.S. that I have translated request that mention of the defendant's case be erased from all these and many other types of records, to prevent future prejudice against him. This was the deal, the carrot on the stick, that the judge/prosecutor offered the defendant in return for compliance with their conditions, and it is what would be included in 'cancelacion de antecedentes' in the query term. The court orders it and all officials are expected (whether they in fact comply or not) to erase their record of the citizens case.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 12 hrs (2008-11-05 13:42:26 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I realize that the target country is the U.K. and the source country is Spain, so both my Answer term and the explanation of legal context and practice are just for background. A different British legal term may be necessary for the target document, depending mostly on what is really done in Spanish legal procedures. CAN the record be expunged under Spanish law? Can other records besides those of the court (and/or the police) be ordered erased of a defendant's name and personal information, so that he/she appears as if never arrested?
Richard Boulter United States Local time: 06:26 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 95
Notes to answerer
Asker: Hi Richard, this is the thing. As I state above, he received a suspended sentence which is now over, which means that this is not the cancellation or expungement of charges: rather, the end of a suspended sentence... Hope that helps.
Reference comments
15 hrs peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: España: solicitud de cancelación de antecedentes
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peer agreement (net): +2
