An adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, almost always shortened to ACD, is a mechanism under Criminal Procedure Law 170.55. With the required consent, the court adjourns the case with a view toward dismissing it. If the case is not restored to the calendar within the statutory period, the accusatory instrument is deemed dismissed.
The case is paused rather than decided. If nothing brings it back within the period, usually six months for a standard misdemeanor ACD, it is dismissed. You do not plead guilty, and the dismissal is not a conviction.
What an ACD is not
- It is not a guilty plea. You are not admitting the charge to obtain it.
- It is not a conviction, and it should not be described as one on a job application that asks about convictions.
- It is not automatic. It requires consent, and whether the prosecution consents depends on the facts, the value of the goods, your record, and how the case has been presented to them.
- It is not immediate. The case remains open during the adjournment period. It ends at the end of it.
What can bring the case back
The adjournment is conditional in practice even where conditions are informal. A new arrest during the period is the usual reason a case gets restored. Where the court attaches conditions such as a theft awareness or decision-making program, community service, or restitution, failing to complete them can also bring it back. Completing them quietly and early is the entire job during that window.
What happens to the record
A case that terminates in your favor, which includes a dismissal following an ACD, is generally sealed once the case ends, unless an exception applies. That sealing is the practical point of the whole exercise. It is the difference between a background check that shows nothing and one that requires an explanation for the rest of your working life.How sealing works covers that side of it.
When an ACD is the wrong answer
This is the part that rarely gets said, and it matters.
If you are not a US citizen
An ACD is generally favorable immigration-wise because there is no conviction, but the analysis is technical, and it depends on what, if anything, is placed on the record to obtain it. Do not accept any disposition in a theft case without telling your lawyer your status first. More on that here.
If the case against you is weak
An ACD ends the case, which can make it tempting even where the evidence would not survive scrutiny. If the valuation is wrong, the footage does not show what the report claims, or the stop itself was unreasonable, a dismissal on the merits or a refusal to charge may be available. Accepting a six-month pause is a real cost when the answer should have been nothing at all.
If you hold a professional license
Licensing bodies ask their own questions and are not bound by how criminal court characterises an outcome. What has to be disclosed, and when, depends on the profession.This is covered separately.
Other ways a shoplifting case can end
- Outright dismissal, where the evidence does not support the charge.
- Reduction to a non-criminal violation, such as disorderly conduct, which leaves you without a criminal conviction though the analysis differs from an ACD.
- Theft diversion or education programs, available in some courts for eligible first-time cases, typically ending in dismissal on completion.
- Trial, which is rare in retail theft matters but remains the backstop.
Which of these is realistic is a question about your specific file rather than about shoplifting cases in general. That is a short conversation to have, and there is no charge for it.
The information on this page is general information about New York law. It is not legal advice about your case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts.