Deferred adjudication in drug cases isn't all it's cracked up to be (excuse the bad pun). A got a call from the father of a potential client in a Guadalupe County Possession of Marijuana case and was asked "Why does he even need a lawyer, isn't he just going to get deferred adjudication anyway?" Why does he need a lawyer? First, because deferred adjudication isn't automatic. Second, because deferred adjudication isn't a picnic. And, third, and most importantly , because deferred adjudication isn't the magic wand for keeping one's criminal record clean that most people think. For better or worse, both Comal and Guadalupe Counties take misdemeanor drug cases seriously. Deferred adjudication in a Possession of Marijuana case in either Comal or Guadalupe Counties, for example, is typically supervised probation.
A person is drug-tested, takes classes, reports to a probation officer, pays fees over and above any fine and court costs, has to get permission to travel outside the county, can't consume alcohol, often performs community service hours , and, of course, can't commit any crimes. Abiding by all of the conditions can be expensive and can take a lot of time away from work. school, or family. Violate the deferred, and the person is looking at, not only a permanent conviction and substantial jail time, but also a driver's license suspension to boot. Deferred adjudication also doesn't mean that a person's record is "clean." In the age of the internet and complete criminal background checks, what will often show up after a person has gone on deferred is that he was arrested, did a form of probation, but simply did not have a formal conviction entered against him. This still counts as a big red flag in the eyes of many potential employers and others. I recently had a self-employed client, for instance, who does contract work for school districts and, who has to have a background check run by a district every time the client bids on work.
The client had to turn down deferred adjudication in a drug case because the client couldn't bid on school district work with a a deferred appearing on record check. Deferred adjudication just doesn't work for everyone. Why do you need a lawyer in a drug case? Because you want your attorney to explore other options that may keep your record clean, not just automatically settle for deferred adjudication. Because you want your attorney to help you lessen the impact of a deferred adjudication on your future if you do wind up having to do deferred. Because even misdemeanor drugs cases can be serious, not just five minutes from now but also five years from now when you are trying to get on with your life.