,There is a lot of confusion about what a conviction means in Florida, especially when it comes to expunging your criminal record. In order to qualify to have your arrest record sealed or expunged you can never have been convicted. This can be confusing because most people think if they were found guilty or they pled to a crime, they were convicted. However, in Florida the court can withhold adjudication

Withholding the adjudication of guilt is the rare ability to find someone guilty but not convict them. This happens when a person either pleads guilty or no contest or is found guilty by a jury of committing a crime but the court does not convict them. Florida courts have the option either to convict (adjudge guilty) or to not convict (withhold adjudication of guilt).

Not All Findings of Guilt Are Convictions in Florida

Over the many years I have been sealing and expunging criminal records I have always had to try and explain the difference between Florida’s use of a withhold adjudication or an adjudication of guilt. Hopefully, the information on this page will do a better job than my brief explanations that occur over the phone or in emails.

A Florida Conviction Is …

The confusion that springs up about Florida’s sentencing structure is the fact that you can be found guilty of committing a criminal act (regardless of whether you pled guilty or were found guilty by a jury) and still not be convicted of committing that act.

This can be very confusing to people for many different reasons. For purposes of this webpage, I am keeping it in the context of sealing or expunging a criminal record.

Being Arrested

When you are arrested you are at the very beginning of the criminal process. Except for certain traffic offenses (criminal acts charged by the issuance of a criminal traffic citation) all criminal offenses must be formally charged by the filing of an Information or indictment (these are formal charging documents filed by the State Attorney’s Office).

An Information is the formal charging document. When the State Attorney receives the police report explaining why you have been arrested (written by the police) they review it and determine if they will file formal charges against you. This can take several weeks.

The State Attorney’s Options

Upon receipt of the police report the State Attorney has several options. They can file:

• No Information Notice: Also called a No Bill, this means they are not filing formal charges. For most cases this means the case has been dropped. It does not mean the arrest record disappears.
• An Information: This is a formal charging document and it means they are going to pursue the charges listed against you.
• An Indictment: This is also a formal charge and requires the convening of a grand jury.

If You Are Formally Charged With A Criminal Offense

If you are charged and you enter a plea of guilty or no contest then you will typically be found guilty by the court. However, being found guilty does not mean you have been convicted.

The court, immediately after finding you guilty, must then decide if you will be Adjudicated Guilty or if the court will grant a Withhold adjudication of guilt. This also applies when a jury finds you guilty after a trial.

Withhold Adjudication …

The court’s decision of either adjudicating you guilty or withholding the adjudication of guilt will determine if you are convicted. If the court adjudicates you guilty you have been convicted of the offense. If the court withholds the adjudication of guilt the court has not convicted you.

Florida’s Alternative to Sentencing

Florida law has this alternative to sentencing that allows a person to escape the penalty of a conviction for many reasons too expansive to list here. The one thing to remember is that in the context of sealing or expunging your record you can never have been adjudicated guilty (convicted) of any criminal offense. If you have ever been convicted you are not eligible to seal or expunge anything. You want a withhold of adjudication as your disposition.

Withhold Adjudication and Sealing the Record

If the arrest record you want to get rid of had a withhold of adjudication then that offense can be sealed providing you meet the other qualifications (i.e., you have (1) never been convicted of another offense and (2) you have never sealed or expunged a prior Florida arrest record).

What to Look For

The words you want to see on your “disposition” of your case are:

• withhold of adjudication
• adjudication withheld
• withhold the adjudication
• adjudication of guilt withheld

These are the best examples of the wording you may find on your disposition and any other similar description will also work. The magic word is any form or the word “withhold.”

Clarke v. United States, 184 So. 3d 1107, (Fla. 2016): This case gives the best explanation of the law about Florida’s ability to find someone guilty but not convict them of a crime. The Florida Supreme Court answered the question posed to them by the Eleventh Circuit Federal Court of Appeal (they were also confused).

Dropped, Dismissed, No Information

If you have been arrested the criminal charges may still go away. The State Attorney can file formal charges against you then decide to drop the case. The court can dismiss the case based on certain legal arguments by a lawyer. The State Attorney can decide to never file formal charges and announce this with the filing of a document called a No Information notice. In these instances you have not been found guilty and you have not been convicted.

If the arrest record you want to get rid of resulted in the case being dropped, dismissed, or not filed on, you can expunge that record provided you meet the other qualifications.

For More Information

For more information about sealing or expunging your Florida criminal record contact me at anytime. I try to respond within 24 hours.