A probation officer recently asked me to review the local department's form orders for termination and dismissal upon satisfactory completion of deferred adjudication probation. Specifically, she was concerned that those required to register as sex offenders might get the wrong idea from the language of the order that they no longer had to register.

However, in looking at the language of Section 42.12, 5(c), it seems to me that the statute forbids ever terminating and dismissing someone who is required to register as a sex offfender, even after successful completion of the term of probation. The literal language of the statute is: "The judge may not dismiss the proceedings and discharge a defendant charged with an offense requiring the defendant to register under Chapter 62." There is no qualification that the restriction applies only to early termination.

If I am missing something, or if anyone has a different angle on this, I would appreciate any suggestions before I give advice to the probation officer in question.

Thanks

Sex offenders who have to register are excluded. That's been the law for quite a while.

Yes, but does this mean that a sex offender on deferred can never get his case dismissed, even years later after the term of probation has expired?

What is unclear about the sentence? It tells the judge not to do it for registered sex offenders.

I agree, but our probation department and the local judges seem to be reading it in the context of the immediately preceding provision for early termination, and assuming that it only prevents the judge from early termination, but not from terminating after the term of probation is complete.
I guess what I'm looking for is for some of the "big guns" to agree that the statute means what it says, so that I can take more than my own reading of it to the table with the probation department and the local judges.