Do deferred prosecution and adjudication withheld mean the same thing?

Typically a deferred prosecution involves you completing some tasks similar to probation prior to being convicted. If you satisfactorily complete your tasks then the charges are dropped. If the State dismisses the charges against you, then it is different from having adjudication withheld. A withhold actually requires you to enter a plea to the charges and then receive a sentence from a judge. Where it can get tricky is if you were offered a deferred prosecution and you were unsuccessful in completing your tasks; at that point your case would go back in front of the judge and you could plea and end up with a withhold potentially. So, in short: if you successfully completed your deferred prosecution agreement and the charges were dismissed/dropped/ or nolle prossed (all different words meaning the same thing) then it is different than a withhold of adjudication.

You really need to sit down with a criminal defense attorney about this to go over your file - you have to determine exactly what happened and your exact adjudication or nolle prosecution.

Deferred prosecution in Orange County, Florida will typically mean pretrial diversion. If you have successfully completed such a program then your case would have been dismissed and you could answer "no" to whether you have had a withhold of adjudication in a criminal case (so long as this was your only case). To be sure you should contact the clerk of court for Orange County and find out what happened in your case.