Deferred Adjudication
Encyclopedia
Deferred adjudication is a form of plea deal
available in various jurisdictions, where a defendant
pleads "guilty" or "No Contest" to criminal charges in exchange for meeting certain requirements laid out by the court within an allotted period of time also ordered by the court. Upon completion of the requirements, which may include probation
, treatment, community service
, or some form of community supervision, the defendant may avoid a formal conviction
on their record or have their case dismissed. In some cases, an order of non-disclosure can be obtained, and sometimes a record can be expunged
.
in writing, so long as certain conditions are met. Because the judgment is not entered as "guilty," a PBJ does not legally count as a conviction for a crime, and therefore the defendant is spared some hardships of having a criminal record, e.g. for purposes of job applications he or she does not have to disclose it as a conviction, though a full criminal background check will still reveal the case.
The defendant, however, is still placed on probation
and can be compelled to pay a monetary fine or other restitution, enroll in a drug rehabilitation program, work community service hours, and/or less frequently, sentenced to imprisonment or alternative confinement. If the defendant carries out their sentence and behaves within the conditions of their probation (i.e. commits no further crimes), they become eligible for expungement
3 years after the judgment or when their probation ends, whichever is later (in some cases they can file early if they can show "good cause" to a judge). Expungement is not automatically requested; the defendant is responsible for filing for it at court once their time is up.
should first consult their attorney regarding the exact consequences of doing so. In all jurisdictions, the case itself that resulted in the Deferred Adjudication remains in the record permanently, though what effect this has and how the record can be discovered or disclosed varies. For example, the record always remains visible to law enforcement and some high-level government background checks, but some states allow for the record to be rendered inaccessible to the public or private-sector background checks.
In some states such as Texas, Deferred Adjudication is not treated as a criminal conviction as a matter of law, however there is no easy way to remove the record of the case from one's background. This creates difficulties with private entities performing background checks such as employers and apartment complexes, as they can see the case, charge and its outcome, and often simply treat it the same as though it were a conviction for purposes of their review.
Some who have taken Deferred Adjudication have been dismayed later in finding that, contrary to what they are told in court, their state legislature does not allow for their record to be cleared, and they are forever deemed a convicted criminal in the eyes of the anyone looking at their record. Interestingly, because no conviction was finalized, even the Governor is unable to grant a full Pardon to remove this criminal state as could be done with an actual criminal conviction.
Currently, there are several organizations that are protesting the way Deferred Adjudication has been offered and the alleged trickery of prosecutors and criminal defense
attorneys in getting defendants to accept Deferred Adjudication and the offenses for which prosecutors offer Deferred Adjudication.
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
available in various jurisdictions, where a defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
pleads "guilty" or "No Contest" to criminal charges in exchange for meeting certain requirements laid out by the court within an allotted period of time also ordered by the court. Upon completion of the requirements, which may include probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
, treatment, community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
, or some form of community supervision, the defendant may avoid a formal conviction
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
on their record or have their case dismissed. In some cases, an order of non-disclosure can be obtained, and sometimes a record can be expunged
Expungement
In the common law legal system, an expungement proceeding is a type of lawsuit in which a first time offender of a prior criminal conviction seeks that the records of that earlier process be sealed, thereby making the records unavailable through the state or Federal repositories. If successful, the...
.
Maryland
In Maryland, deferred adjudication is called "Probation Before Judgment" or "PBJ" for short. The conditions of this principle are set down in Title §6–220 of the state's Criminal Procedure article. This law enables a judge to defer entering a judgment (that is, delay the entry of a "guilty" verdict) if the defendant pleads guilty or nolo contendereNolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
in writing, so long as certain conditions are met. Because the judgment is not entered as "guilty," a PBJ does not legally count as a conviction for a crime, and therefore the defendant is spared some hardships of having a criminal record, e.g. for purposes of job applications he or she does not have to disclose it as a conviction, though a full criminal background check will still reveal the case.
The defendant, however, is still placed on probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
and can be compelled to pay a monetary fine or other restitution, enroll in a drug rehabilitation program, work community service hours, and/or less frequently, sentenced to imprisonment or alternative confinement. If the defendant carries out their sentence and behaves within the conditions of their probation (i.e. commits no further crimes), they become eligible for expungement
Expungement
In the common law legal system, an expungement proceeding is a type of lawsuit in which a first time offender of a prior criminal conviction seeks that the records of that earlier process be sealed, thereby making the records unavailable through the state or Federal repositories. If successful, the...
3 years after the judgment or when their probation ends, whichever is later (in some cases they can file early if they can show "good cause" to a judge). Expungement is not automatically requested; the defendant is responsible for filing for it at court once their time is up.
Controversy and ethics
Anyone offered Deferred Adjudication in exchange for a guilty pleaPlea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether that...
should first consult their attorney regarding the exact consequences of doing so. In all jurisdictions, the case itself that resulted in the Deferred Adjudication remains in the record permanently, though what effect this has and how the record can be discovered or disclosed varies. For example, the record always remains visible to law enforcement and some high-level government background checks, but some states allow for the record to be rendered inaccessible to the public or private-sector background checks.
In some states such as Texas, Deferred Adjudication is not treated as a criminal conviction as a matter of law, however there is no easy way to remove the record of the case from one's background. This creates difficulties with private entities performing background checks such as employers and apartment complexes, as they can see the case, charge and its outcome, and often simply treat it the same as though it were a conviction for purposes of their review.
Some who have taken Deferred Adjudication have been dismayed later in finding that, contrary to what they are told in court, their state legislature does not allow for their record to be cleared, and they are forever deemed a convicted criminal in the eyes of the anyone looking at their record. Interestingly, because no conviction was finalized, even the Governor is unable to grant a full Pardon to remove this criminal state as could be done with an actual criminal conviction.
Currently, there are several organizations that are protesting the way Deferred Adjudication has been offered and the alleged trickery of prosecutors and criminal defense
Defense (legal)
In civil proceedings and criminal prosecutions under the common law, a defendant may raise a defense in an attempt to avoid criminal or civil liability...
attorneys in getting defendants to accept Deferred Adjudication and the offenses for which prosecutors offer Deferred Adjudication.