Q: I had felony charges and completed my differed sentence and the court dismissed my charges does that mean Im not felon

A: Yes. That’ll be $50 (just kidding! Congratulations! Great job!)

A: I agree with Mr. Tiernan. You are not a convicted felon, and great job! However, you should be aware that if your deferred sentence was for a crime under the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, there can be a lingering impact of your deferred sentence for certain purposes. What it says is that:

"any plea of guilty or nolo contendere or finding of guilt to a violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act shall constitute a conviction of the offense for the purpose of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act or any other criminal statute under which the existence of a prior conviction is relevant for a period of ten (10) years following the completion of any court imposed probationary term[.]" Title 63, Section 2-410.

What that means is that if your deferred sentence was for a felony under the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, the State can treat the deferred you received (and completed) as a felony conviction to prosecute you for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. So, you would not be a convicted felon, but the law would treat you as one for the purpose of possessing a firearm for ten years after you completed your deferred sentence. While I do not agree with the above provision and there may be ways of successfully challenging the law, it is currently the law as written in statute.