Last week President Trump received an unconditional discharge. An unconditional discharge is a term rarely considered by sentencing courts and it is even a rarer commodity when the defendant at issue has been convicted of thirty-four felonies. Essentially, it means that the sentencing court is of the opinion that no proper purpose would be served by imposing any condition upon the defendant's release.

Accordingly, when the trial court imposes a sentence of unconditional discharge, the defendant is released without imprisonment, probation supervision or conditions. A sentence of unconditional discharge is for all purposes a final judgment of conviction, such that the defendant can appeal from that judgment, but for all intents and purposes, the defendant is no longer under the jurisdiction of the court.