Deferral of Adjudication 19-2-709
By H. Michael Steinberg is both an experienced and a dedicated Colorado Juvenile Criminal Defense Attorney
As a former Senior – Career Arapahoe – Douglas County District Attorney -in his13 years (1984 – 1997) years as a prosecutor – H. Michael was assigned to the prosecution of hundreds of juvenile prosecutions. As a Colorado Criminal Defense Lawyer for the last 16 years (1997 – 2013) – he has successfully handled hundreds more juvenile cases.
Juvenile criminal defense lawyers must be specialized in this area and must have specialized training and experience to be effective on behalf of their clients… essentially just children. Because Juvenile Court is different than adult court – an experienced lawyer in adult may be incompetent to practice in juvenile court.
Where your child’s freedom and future is at stake…go with experience every time.
Here is the statute referenced in the article that linked you to this page:
19-2-709. Deferral of adjudication
(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1.5) of this section, in any case in which the juvenile has agreed with the district attorney to enter a plea of guilty, the court, with the consent of the juvenile and the district attorney, upon accepting the guilty plea and entering an order deferring adjudication, may continue the case for a period not to exceed one year from the date of entry of the order deferring adjudication. The court may continue the case for an additional one-year period for good cause.
(1.5) In a case in which the juvenile has agreed with the district attorney to enter a plea of guilty, resulting in a conviction as defined in section 16-22-102 (3), C.R.S., for unlawful sexual behavior, as defined in section 16-22-102 (9), C.R.S., the court, with the consent of the juvenile and district attorney, upon accepting the guilty plea and entering an order deferring adjudication, may continue the case for a period of time not to exceed two years from the date of the order deferring adjudication. Upon a showing of good cause, the court may continue the case for additional time, not to exceed five years from the date of the order deferring adjudication.
(2) Any juvenile granted a deferral of adjudication under this section may be placed under the supervision of a probation department. The court may impose any conditions of supervision that it deems appropriate that are stipulated to by the juvenile and the district attorney.
(3) Upon full compliance with such conditions of supervision, the plea of the juvenile or the finding of guilt by the court shall be withdrawn and the case dismissed with prejudice.
(3.5) Application for entry of adjudication and imposition of sentence may be made by the district attorney or a probation officer at any time within the term of the deferred adjudication or within thirty-five days thereafter.
(4) If the juvenile fails to comply with the terms of supervision, the court shall enter an order of adjudication and proceed to sentencing under section 19-2-906. Such lack of compliance shall be a matter to be determined by the court without a jury, upon written application of the district attorney or probation department. At least five days’ notice shall be given to the juvenile and his or her parents, guardian, or legal custodian. The burden of proof shall be the same as if the matter were being heard as a probation revocation proceeding.
(5) If the juvenile agrees to a deferral of adjudication, he or she waives all rights to a speedy trial and sentencing.