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Definition: A conviction that, after a specified number of years known as a rehabilitation period, may in all subsequent civil proceedings be treated as if it had never existed.
Notes: Except in very limited circumstances, when a person is convicted of a crime, that conviction is considered to be irrelevant after a set amount of time (the rehabilitation period) and it is then referred to as “spent”. This period of time varies according to the sentence received. A conviction is described as unspent if the rehabilitation period associated with it has not yet lapsed.
