Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

A "Stay of Adjudication" is a disposition of a criminal (or juvenile delinquency) case, where the accused offers a guilty plea but the judge does not accept it (does not "adjudicate" the accused guilty). The moment of "conviction" is the moment of "adjudication." If the accused makes it through the period of the "Stay" without violating a condition, then the charge is dismissed and there is no conviction.

If the accused does violate a condition, the Judge can revoke the "stay" and adjudicate the person guilty (by accepting the guilty plea previously offered). Then the judge could stay imposition of sentencing (often conditionally), or stay execution of a sentence imposed (often conditionally), or impose and execute a sentence.