In January 2012, aged 21, Kearse was convicted of having 12 grams of cannabis and fined $200. He co-operated with police and accepted responsibility immediately, Justice Rebecca Ellis said in the High Court.
She proceeded on the assumption the sentencing judge had not considered the possibility of a discharge without conviction, so she was prepared to consider the case afresh.
The consequences of a conviction were out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence, and she discharged him without conviction.
It might not help because she suspected the US authorities also looked at charges, not just convictions, but it was reasonable to assume his prospects would improve, the judge said.