This is a plea offer that prosecutors will offer that basically means, “We want you on probation for a while. As long as you do not violate probation, we will dismiss the charge at the end of the probation period.”

For example, if they offered 3 years of deferred adjudication for Donald in Donald’s assault charge. Donald would be on probation for 3 years, checking-in with his probation officer every month….if he completes the 3 years, the charge will be dismissed at the end.

If Donald violates probation, then the Court and prosecutor will revoke his probation, meaning they will take him off of probation and move forward with finding him guilty and sentencing him to possible prison time or some more aggressive probation program.

Adjudication is a big fancy legal word that just means the process of making a judgment on the case… and deferred is another way of saying delayed – SO deferred adjudication means… we will not find you guilty and this will not be a conviction on your record. Instead, we will delay things and see how you behave on probation.

This is a great option if you know you can do well on probation. This is not a great option if you have a drug addiction, trouble with authority, etc. Because if you fuck up on probation, the Judge can sentence you very harshly.