Withhold of Adjudication

A “withhold of adjudication” is a device here in Florida that allows the judge to accept your plea and not convict you of the crime. He withholds the conviction, but it does goes on your record, and you do the sanctions.

There are several advantages to a “withhold of adjudication”. If you are asked in a job application, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” you can truthfully and legally say, “No, I have never been convicted of a crime.”

Most people don’t know that if you are adjudicated of a drug possession charge, the state of Florida will suspend your driver’s license for a period of two years. It doesn’t matter if there was a car involved or not in the charge. A “withhold of adjudication” or adjudication of guilt is very important to people’s livelihoods, to their driving privileges and to their chances for employment down the line. This is not presented in commonsense terms to the unrepresented defendant.