Ending Without A Conviction
MCL 333.7411 — deferral for a first drug possession or use offense, once, and MCL 762.11 — youthful trainee status
A first drug offense. A person with no prior drug conviction who pleads guilty to or is found guilty of possessing or using a controlled substance under the provisions the section names may, with consent and without a judgment of guilt, be placed on probation. On a violation, the court may enter an adjudication of guilt; on fulfillment, it discharges the person and dismisses the proceedings.
Once, and nonpublic. A discharge and dismissal is not a conviction for disqualifications or disabilities imposed by law, and there may be only 1 for a person. The record during deferral is closed to public inspection, and the state police keep a nonpublic record.
Youthful trainee. For an offense committed on or after the person's eighteenth birthday but before the twenty-sixth, the court may, with the person's consent and without entering a judgment of conviction, assign the person to the status of youthful trainee. From the twenty-first birthday on, the prosecuting attorney must also consent.
Not available. Youthful trainee status does not apply to a felony punishable by life imprisonment, a major controlled substance offense, a traffic offense, or the sexual offenses the section lists.
Whether a person qualifies, what conditions a court sets, and whether the record can later be sealed are questions for a licensed Michigan attorney. Sealing has its own page.
Sources for this section (2)
- MCL 333.7411 — Deferral for a first possession or use offense; probation; discharge and dismissal
- MCL 762.11 — Youthful trainee status
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Michigan attorney.