Regarding being bound to the peace?

calistro

A year back I, along with another lad, was bound to the peace for 3 years for a stupid fight that should have never have went that far (isn't hindsight brilliant all the same:)). Anyway, would anyone know if this is recorded as an actual conviction or is it just on court records. Would it impede any employment prospects (few and far between anyhow)? And lastly, if for instance I was involved in a fight through self defence would the fact that I was already bound to the peace go against me in a court. The reason I ask is that recently coming out of pubs/clubs with my GF, the louts that hang around the doors gave her a bit abuse and leering, we walked away (ooohhh the bigger man and all that) but if it got out of hand and resulted in a fight what way would a court look on it.

Cheers

Croc

It is a Conviction and yes it would come against you, Judge is more likely to give you a heavier sentence (if he convicts you that is) if you have a previous conviction.

Its also important to know that a Judge is never made aware of the fact that a person has previous convictions during a case, that question only arises on conviction and it is used by him to decide the sentence he will impose.

I can't say for definite on the employment question but most potential employers would not have access to thats sort of information.

Reloc8

Actually its perfectly possible if not likely that you have no conviction. Frequently charges are dropped in the District Court when a person is bound over, or a judge strikes out charges on binding someone over. Equally the order is sometimes made following conviction. I don't suppose you had a solicitor acting who you could query whether you were convicted or not ? If the case was in the Circuit Court on indictment (as opposed to on appeal from District) then you were almost certainly convicted.

There is likely to be a record on the Garda PULSE system that you were bound over to keep the peace. That however is not necessarily a conviction as noted above.

On your specific query, if it was brought to the attention of a court dealing with you on an office to which you pleaded or were found guilty it would be considered an aggravating factor in how that court would deal with you on the new offence.

Noting you ask what would happen if you were involved in a fight through self-defence, the answer is nothing because self-defence is a defence (generally - I am not going to outline all of the parameters or some exceptional circumstances here).

Just by-the-by, clouting someone who was leering at your other half/giving it a bit of verbals is usually not self-defence

On the employment question, you need to know whether you were convicted or not so that you can answer any question put to you by an employer accurately. If not convicted and you were asked whether you have convictions, you can say no with a clean conscience.