LEGAL FILE

Actor Johnny Depp got off scot-free with an absolute discharge after pleading guilty in a Vancouver, British Colombia, court to an assault charge. The 25-year-old star of the Fox television series “21 Jump Street� was charged last March after a confrontation with a security guard following a hotel party. Depp’s lawyer, Richard Israels, told provincial court his client regrets the incident. Depp, who plays an undercover officer on the TV show, knows he didn’t live up to the responsibility of being an American allowed to work in Canada, said Israels. The lawyer said Depp overreacted during a discussion with the guard. Both the defense and prosecution asked the judge on Thursday to grant a discharge, which means Depp will have no record of a conviction. The guard, David Sulina, said outside court he thought the verdict was “fair. It wasn’t a major assault.�