11.5.3.9 Costs Related to Deferred Judgment

In many criminal sentencing systems, an option exists for the deferred adjudication of a criminal proceeding. In these cases, what is “deferred” is the actual finding of guilt by the court; typically, the defendant pleads guilty and submits to probation and payment of certain costs, and at the end of the term of probation the matter may even be expunged.

There does not appear to be any authority determining whether, in a bankruptcy context, payments associated with a deferred judgment are dischargeable. However, at least one court has found that a deferred adjudication preceded by a guilty plea under the somewhat more debtor-friendly chapter 13 standard constitutes a “criminal conviction.”³¹⁹

Based on that standard, there is no difference in the analysis between debts imposed as part of a deferred adjudication and a criminal conviction. This opinion draws on Dickerson v. New Banner Institute, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that a guilty plea combined with imposition of probation constituted a conviction for federal firearms restriction purposes.³²⁰ Components of criminal justice debt assessed in a deferred adjudication should be analyzed for dischargeability like any other criminal justice debt.