In the interests of justice, a judge may defer adjudication and place you on probation without a finding of guilt. For all intents and purposes, this means that you are not convicted of the crime with which you were charged. This option is available to the court for most offenses except DWI and certain other offenses. If you successfully complete the probation, you will not have a conviction on your record. However, the arrest records and case file records are still accessible for public view. So, apartment landlords and employers checking your background to investigate potential tenants and employees would be able to see the deferred adjudication records. While these are not convictions, many landlords and employers still generally treat a deferred adjudication the same as a conviction. People with deferred adjudication records are often unable to rent apartments or get jobs.

As of September 1, 2003, the legislature changed the law regarding deferred adjudications. People who successfully completed deferred adjudication probation may now petition the judge of the court of original jurisdiction to sign an “Order of Non-disclosure”. An Order of Non-disclosure is not an expunction where the arrest records and all other criminal case records are destroyed. An Order of Non-disclosure bars governmental agencies from disclosing the existence of the charge or the deferred adjudication sentence. So, the criminal records are removed from public view for most purposes. Once an order is issued, the defendant may deny the occurrence of the arrest and prosecution to which the information relates unless the information is used against the person in a subsequent criminal proceeding.

For most misdemeanors, a defendant can petition for an Order of Non-disclosure immediately after his deferred adjudication is discharged and his case dismissed. For others including felonies, a defendant will have a waiting period before they can petition for the order. The length of the waiting period depends on the level of crime for which the defendant received deferred adjudication probation.

Expunctions

An Order of Expunction is different from an Order of Nondisclosure. The Nondisclosure order requires governmental agencies to remove the arrest records and records of deferred adjudication probation from public view. In contrast, an expunction requires these agencies to not only remove these records from public view but to destroy them.

A person who has been placed under custodial or noncustodial arrest for a felony or misdemeanor is entitled to have all records and files relating to the arrest expunged in the following situations:

1. The person is entitled to expunction when he is tried for the offense and is acquitted by the trial court.

2. The person is convicted of the offense, but is later pardoned.

3. An indictment or information charging the person is not presented against the person and the limitations period has expired before a petition for expunction is filed.

4. An indictment or information was presented, but it has been dismissed or quashed, and


a. the limitations period has expired before the petition for expunction is filed, OR

b. the court finds that the indictment or information was dismissed or quashed because it was presented as a result of mistake, false information, or some other similar reason indicating absence of probable cause at the time of the dismissal to believe that the person committed the offense.


5. The person was released and the charge, if any, has not resulted in a final conviction and is no longer pending and there was no court ordered community supervision for any offense other than a Class C misdemeanor, and


a. The person has not been convicted of a felony in the preceding five years from the date of arrest.

The District Court may expunge all records and files relating to the arrest for a misdemeanor or felony offense of a person if the person is tried for the offense, is convicted of the offense, and is acquitted by the court of criminal appeals.

Unfortunately, there are some situations where the court may not order the expunction of the records. Arrest records can have continuing adverse consequences for people seeking employment and housing even when they are acquitted of the charge. If you had a case filed against you, and you were found not guilty or the charge was dismissed or the case has never proceeded to trial, you should seek the advise of an attorney.