What is Deferred Adjudication?

Deferred adjudication basically means that the final judgment in a situation has been deferred until a later time. Between the announcement of deferred adjudication and the time when final judgment will be announced, the charged individual is given the chance or opportunity to do something that will result in the crime not being listed as a "guilty" sentence on his or her record.

For many small or minor crimes, an individual who has maybe no prior arrests or convictions will be given the opportunity to keep his or her record clean through deferred adjudication. A judge will give an individual an opportunity to complete community service hours or an alcohol awareness class.

Deferred adjudication is a plea bargain agreement between a defendant and a Texas criminal court. The final or formal judgment is withheld, postponed, or "deferred" until the end of a probation period. If the individual completes the probation period successfully, the charges are dismissed. In addition to the probation period, a person may have a number of conditions to meet that the court assigns.

Prior to receiving deferred adjudication from a court, a defendant is required to enter either a plea of guilty to the charges or a plea of no contest to the charges against him or her. Either way, the plea means that the defendant admits to the crime charged. A plea of no contest has the advantage of offering a degree of protection from any future civil charges that have been levied against him or her.

While a successful deferred adjudication judgment ultimately results in the criminal charges being dismissed by the criminal court, there are two very important pieces of information that will remain on a person's record and be viewable by the general public for the rest of an individual's life. The two visible records that remain are:

1. The original arrest record. This record contains all of the arresting officer's notes and reports. It will also usually include any investigator's notes, photographs, confessions, or any other type of evidence seizer or testimony taken during the arrest.

2. The record of the action of the court. The actions of the court will be recorded into a document. The document typically contains the order and terms of the probation which were signed by the defendant in order to qualify for deferred adjudication. In addition, the record will contain the plea entered by the defendant.

Fortunately, many deferred adjudication situations can be expunged or the records can be sealed.

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