shoplifting

[anniepanniepears]

my friend has been charged with 4 accounts of shoplifting.
she has been up in court and has been told she has been given a bond for six month and if she breaks the law in this period of time she will be prosecuted . Does this mean that she has been found guilty or not
thanks

[wellcoveredsparerib]

what your friend describes is most likely to be a conditional discharge if in england and wales. (not sure about scotland) if it is then yes, there would have to have been a guilty plea.

[CajaDeLaMemoria]

It's not a bond if you are in the UK, it's a conditional discharge or a suspended sentence.

Yes it means she was found guilty, or admitted she was guilty.

[deste]

Do you mean she has been bound over, or something like that.

[anniepanniepears]

she said that if she stays out of trouble for six months everything will be okay ,if not she will be prosecuted ,dont understand anything about it at all

[Chubfuddler]

Does she mean she has been cautioned by the police? Or has she had to go to the magistrates court?

It would be helpful if you said whether you are in the UK and if so which part.

[anniepanniepears]

Chub I am in Scotland
My friend is being very vague about the whole thing
as far as I know she has been up in a magistrates court

[deste]

I think she means this. (Bound over,) It means a case has been sent to the trial court. This term is generally used after a preliminary hearing in a magistrate court. It may also be used if a case is in a lower court and is bound over to a general trial court for a jury trial.