Relief from a Criminal Conviction (2023 Edition)

G.S. 15A-1341(a2) authorizes a pre-plea deferred prosecution and G.S. 15A-1341(a5) authorizes a post-plea discharge and dismissal for cases handled through a Drug Treatment Court Program (see Table 17). An impaired driving offense under G.S. 20-138.1 is ineligible. The criteria for a pre-plea and post-plea deferral are nearly the same—the defendant must be eligible to participate in a Drug Treatment Court Program pursuant to Article 62 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes. If the defendant successfully completes the program, the charges are dismissed. The statutes do not contain or refer to specific expunction procedures, but both types of dispositions should be subject to expunction under the general expunction statute on dismissals, G.S. 15A-146. For a discussion of the impact of a discharge and dismissal and its eligibility for expunction, see supra Expunctions of Dismissals and Similar Dispositions: Dismissal or Finding of Not Guilty of Misdemeanors, Felonies, and Certain Infractions.

There are four different Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) forms for a discharge and dismissal itself (shown in Table 17). The different discharge and dismissal forms reflect differences in the applicable conditions of probation, which depend on the date the person committed the offense; the basic criteria for discharge and dismissal do not differ.

Table 17. Drug Treatment Court