Short answer
HYTA, the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, lets a Michigan court take a guilty plea from a young adult without entering a conviction. Under MCL 762.11(2) it covers offenses committed on or after the 18th birthday and before the 26th, and from the 21st birthday on it needs the prosecutor’s consent. Traffic offenses, including OWI, are excluded. If you complete it, the case is dismissed and the record is closed to the public (MCL 762.14).
A young adult was charged and someone mentioned HYTA
Maybe the charge is retail fraud, a drug possession count or an assault, and the person charged is 19, 22 or 25. A lawyer, a probation officer or a friend said the word HYTA. It stands for the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, the name MCL 762.16 gives to MCL 762.11 through 762.15. It is one of several Michigan laws that let a case end in a dismissal after a guilty plea.
The age rule changed on October 1, 2021, and older web pages still give the old numbers. Before that date, MCL 762.11(1) covered offenses committed from the 17th birthday up to the 24th. Since then, MCL 762.11(2) covers offenses committed on or after the 18th birthday and before the 26th. The age that matters is the age on the date of the offense, not the date of the plea.
This page is general information about Michigan law, not advice about any one case. Whether HYTA fits depends on the exact charge, the person’s record and the court, so talk to a lawyer about your own case before you count on it.
Who decides, and what you have to do
HYTA is never automatic. MCL 762.11(2) says the court "may" assign a person to youthful trainee status, and only with that person’s consent. Three conditions sit in the same subsection. The person must plead guilty. The offense must fall inside the age window. And if the offense was committed on or after the 21st birthday, the person "must not be assigned" without the prosecuting attorney’s consent. For an offense at 18, 19 or 20, the statute leaves the decision to the judge.
If the person was under 18 on the date of the offense, the case generally starts in the family division of circuit court instead, under MCL 712A.2(a)(1). That system is described on the site’s juvenile crimes page.
Charges HYTA does not cover
MCL 762.11(3) lists the offenses HYTA cannot be used for, and MCL 762.11(4) adds people the court may not assign. Read together, they rule out:
- A felony with a maximum penalty of life in prison, MCL 762.11(3)(a).
- A major controlled substance offense, MCL 762.11(3)(b). MCL 761.2 defines that as manufacturing, delivering or possessing with intent to deliver a schedule 1 or 2 narcotic or cocaine, possessing 25 grams or more of one, or conspiring to do either.
- A traffic offense, MCL 762.11(3)(c). Under MCL 762.11(7)(b) that means a Michigan Vehicle Code crime, or a matching local ordinance, that involves operating a vehicle. OWI is one, so HYTA is not available for drunk or drugged driving.
- Most criminal sexual conduct. MCL 762.11(3)(d) and (e) exclude first- through fourth-degree CSC and assault with intent to commit CSC, other than the two age-based provisions in MCL 750.520d(1)(a) and 750.520e(1)(a).
- Certain sex-offense histories. Under MCL 762.11(4), the court may not assign someone with a prior registrable sex offense, someone charged with one who does not prove by clear and convincing evidence that they are not likely to commit another, or a case involving the factors listed in that subsection.
| Question | What the statute says |
|---|---|
| Age at the offense | On or after the 18th birthday and before the 26th, for offenses since October 1, 2021 (MCL 762.11(2)) |
| Whose consent | Yours always; the prosecutor’s too if the offense was at 21 or older (MCL 762.11(2)) |
| How guilt is shown | A guilty plea (MCL 762.11(2)) |
| Charges excluded | Life felonies, major drug offenses, traffic offenses including OWI, most CSC (MCL 762.11(3)) |
| Record after you finish | Case dismissed, not a conviction, closed to public view (MCL 762.14(1), (2), (4)) |
| If status is revoked | The court may enter the conviction and sentence you (MCL 762.12(3)) |
What the court can order during HYTA
Youthful trainee status is not a free pass. MCL 762.13 sets the options by the maximum penalty of the original charge. If the charge is punishable by 1 year or less, MCL 762.13(3) requires probation of not more than 2 years. If it is punishable by more than 1 year, MCL 762.13(1) lets the court choose one of four: commitment to the Department of Corrections for custodial supervision and training for not more than 2 years, probation for not more than 3 years, county jail for not more than 1 year, or a Corrections or jail commitment followed by not more than 1 year of probation.
Some limits run the other way. MCL 762.13(2) bars a Corrections commitment when the charge is a controlled substance offense under the Public Health Code or one of the property, weapon and robbery offenses listed there. A trainee under 21 who is committed to Corrections must be placed in a facility the department designates for that purpose, MCL 762.13(1)(a). The court may allow work or school release from jail, MCL 762.13(5).
Probation can carry the usual conditions, and MCL 762.13(1)(b) allows a drug treatment court as one of them. Under MCL 762.11(5) the court may require work or school, or an active search for either, and MCL 762.11(6) allows electronic monitoring if the offense was committed at 21 or older. MCL 762.13(6) also requires a probation supervision fee, which the court may waive for a person who is indigent.
Finishing HYTA, or losing it
If the status is not revoked, MCL 762.14(1) requires the court, at final release, to discharge the person and dismiss the case. Under MCL 762.14(2) the assignment "is not a conviction for a crime," and the person may not suffer a civil disability or loss of a right because of it after release. Under MCL 762.14(4) the court file is closed to public inspection, though it stays open to courts, the Department of Corrections, the state human services agency, law enforcement and prosecutors for their official duties.
The court may revoke the status at any time before final release, MCL 762.12(1). It must revoke if, during the assignment, the trainee pleads guilty to or is convicted of a life felony, a major drug offense, a firearm offense or one of the assault, home invasion, robbery, weapon and CSC offenses listed in MCL 762.12(2), or willfully violates sex offender registration, MCL 762.12(3). After revocation the court may enter the conviction and sentence the person, with credit for any time already served in jail or with Corrections.
A dismissed HYTA case is not invisible everywhere. The sentencing guidelines count it: MCL 777.50(4)(a)(i) says "conviction" includes an assignment to youthful trainee status. For deciding whether someone may set aside other convictions, MCL 780.621(2) treats a case dismissed after HYTA as a misdemeanor conviction; see what expungement means. Federal immigration law has its own definition of conviction in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(48)(A), which can reach a guilty plea where judgment was withheld, so a non-citizen should ask about that before pleading.
What to do next
Write down the date of the offense and the person’s birthday, and get the exact charge from the complaint or the court’s paperwork. Those three facts answer most of the eligibility questions above. Because HYTA starts with a guilty plea, it has to be raised before any plea is entered, and from age 21 the prosecutor has to agree.
The site’s Holmes Youthful Trainee Act page covers the firm’s view of HYTA. The deeper pillar pages explain how it works in two common kinds of case: HYTA and domestic violence and HYTA and sex offenses. The other ways a Michigan case can be deferred, such as a 7411 drug deferral, are in what diversion, 7411 and deferrals are, and ordinary probation is compared in probation vs. jail vs. delayed sentence.
The office of Attorney Shawn Haff practices criminal defense in Michigan state courts, including the 17th Circuit Court and the 62A, 62B and 63rd District Courts in Kent County, and offers a free consultation at 616-438-6719, answered 24 hours a day.
Common questions
Can you get HYTA for an OWI in Michigan?
No. MCL 762.11(3)(c) excludes traffic offenses, and MCL 762.11(7)(b) defines a traffic offense as a Vehicle Code crime, or a matching local ordinance, that involves operating a vehicle. Operating while intoxicated fits that definition, so HYTA cannot be used for it at any age. The 7411 drug deferral does not apply to OWI either. The options in a first drunk driving case are covered on the first-offense OWI page.
What if I was 25 when it happened but I am 26 now?
The statute looks at the age when the offense was committed, not the age at the plea. MCL 762.11(2) covers an offense "committed on or after the individual’s eighteenth birthday but before his or her twenty-sixth birthday." So an offense committed at 25 is inside the window even if the case is resolved after the 26th birthday. Because the offense was committed after the 21st birthday, the prosecutor’s consent is still required. A lawyer can check the exact dates in your own case.
Does HYTA show up on a background check?
If the person finishes HYTA without revocation, MCL 762.14(4) closes the proceedings to public inspection, and MCL 762.14(2) says the assignment is not a conviction. The file stays open to courts, the Department of Corrections, the state human services agency, law enforcement and prosecutors for their official duties. If the status is revoked and a conviction is entered, the record is no longer closed. Private screening companies are outside this statute, so ask a lawyer if an old entry keeps appearing.
Can you get HYTA more than once?
MCL 762.11 to 762.14 contain no once-in-a-lifetime limit like the ones in the 7411 drug deferral and the domestic violence deferral. Each assignment is still up to the judge, and from age 21 up to the prosecutor as well. Courts and prosecutors can see an earlier assignment under MCL 762.14(4), and an earlier HYTA dismissal counts as a misdemeanor conviction when deciding set-aside eligibility under MCL 780.621(2).
Is HYTA the same as expungement?
No. HYTA keeps a conviction from being entered in the first place, if the person completes it (MCL 762.14(1), (2)). Expungement, which Michigan law calls setting aside a conviction, removes a conviction that was already entered, under MCL 780.621 and the sections that follow it. A person whose HYTA status is revoked has a conviction, and the set-aside rules then apply to it. See what expungement means for how a set-aside works.
Sources
- MCL 762.11, Youthful trainee: age window, prosecutor consent, excluded offenses · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 762.12, Termination or revocation of youthful trainee status · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 762.13, Commitment, probation and jail for a youthful trainee · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 762.14, Discharge and dismissal; not a conviction; closed record · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 761.2, Definition of major controlled substance offense · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 777.50, Sentencing guidelines: "conviction" includes youthful trainee status · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 780.621, Setting aside convictions: deferred and dismissed cases counted · Michigan Legislature
- 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(48)(A), Federal immigration definition of conviction · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Legal information, not legal advice. This page is general legal information about Michigan law, published by the office of Attorney Shawn Haff. It is not legal advice and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its own facts. Check the sources linked above and talk to a licensed Michigan attorney about your own situation. In an emergency, call 911.