Legal Question in Criminal Law in Oklahoma

Re: Application to accelerate

An application to accelerate is filed when a defendant has allegedly failed to successfully abide by the terms and conditions of his "deferred" sentence. A person may receive a deferred sentence upon entering a plea of guilty or no contest to criminal charges. If one, for instance, receives a 5 year deferred sentence, that means that the judge accepts the defendant's plea, but holds off on actually entering a judgement of guilt until the completion of the deferral period. If the defendant successfully complies with the terms of probation, then the case is dismissed at the end of 5 years. However, if, at any time before the 5 years (again the length here is only an example and may vary from case to case) is up, the probationer violates his terms and conditions, the state will file an application requesting that the court sentence the person right now (accelerate) instead of waiting til the end of the 5 year probation period. If the judge grants the application, the defendant may be sentenced up to the maximum penalty for the crime.