Even If Guilty, The Sentencing Could Be Postponed
Video Transcript: What is a deferred sentence? Hi, my name is Jason Sorensen. I’m a lawyer in Tulsa, Oklahoma at Wirth Law Office, and today we’re going to be talking about deferred sentences.
A deferred sentence really is just a sentence for a crime that’s being postponed. So, you’re not guilty of a crime until you’ve been found guilty, and you’ve been punished for that crime. What a deferred sentence is doing is, even though you’re guilty, they’re going to postpone the sentencing part of it until later. And then along with that deferred sentence, the court’s going to give you certain instructions that you need to comply with. And if you comply with those instructions, if you’re able to complete those instructions, then they’ll just wipe the sentence off and you won’t be guilty of that crime.
So, it’s very important to comply with those instructions and not get in any trouble during that time. Because if you don’t comply with the instructions or you do get into more trouble, if you’re found guilty of another crime, then it’s going to wipe the deal away and you can get sentenced for that original crime.
So it’s definitely in your best interest to comply with those instructions, whatever they may be, whether it’s just communicating with a probation officer, going to classes, anything like that. But it’s in your best interest to follow those instructions so that you don’t have that sentence. But another thing to keep in mind is that even if you do comply with them, even if they do take the sentence away, that arrest will still appear on your record in the State of Oklahoma unless you get your record expunged. But this is just basic information.
If you want more information from an Oklahoma criminal defense attorney on this kind of thing, you can visit makelaweasy.com, or you can give us a call at Wirth Law Office.
