In legal terms, “stet” is Latin for “let it stand,” and in Maryland criminal courts it refers to a procedure where the prosecution indefinitely postpones a charge by marking it “stet” on the court docket. The case is not convicted, acquitted, or dismissed. It sits on an inactive docket, unresolved, and can be brought back for trial if certain conditions aren’t met. Outside Maryland, the word turns up occasionally in editing and publishing (where it tells a proofreader to disregard a proposed change), but as a criminal procedure, the stet is essentially a Maryland phenomenon.
How a Stet Works in Maryland
The procedure is governed by Maryland Rule 4-248. The State’s Attorney files a motion asking the court to indefinitely postpone trial on a charge. If the court grants it, the charge is marked “stet” and the case becomes inactive.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Rules Rule 4-248 – Stet A detail that surprises people: the prosecution starts the process, but a stet cannot be entered over the defendant’s objection. Both sides have to agree. If the defendant wants a trial, the case moves forward.
Once a charge is stetted, the court must order the clerk to recall any outstanding warrants or detainers tied to it, so the defendant isn’t arrested on something that has been shelved.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Rules Rule 4-248 – Stet
Conditions Attached to a Stet
Rule 4-248 doesn’t spell out specific conditions, but a stet almost always comes with strings. The prosecution and defense negotiate terms the defendant must follow while the case sits inactive. Common ones include staying out of trouble and avoiding new charges, paying restitution, completing substance abuse or anger management programs, and complying with no-contact orders. In some agreements, if the defendant satisfies every condition, the State later enters a nolle prosequi to formally drop the charge.
A Maryland appellate case shows how this plays out in practice. Defense counsel put the terms on the record: the case would go on the inactive docket, the defendant had to complete a specific class and provide a certificate to the State within six months, and if those requirements were met, the charge would be nolle prossed.2Appellate Court of Maryland. Allen Bernard Branch v. State of Maryland Because conditions are negotiated case by case rather than fixed by statute, what you’re asked to do depends on the charge and the prosecutor involved.
A Stet Is Not a Conviction, but It’s Not a Dismissal Either
This is the point to hold onto. A stet is not a conviction. No guilty plea is entered, no verdict is reached, no judgment of guilt is recorded. In the Branch case, defense counsel stated on the record that a stet “is not a conviction in any way, shape, or form.”2Appellate Court of Maryland. Allen Bernard Branch v. State of Maryland That matters for professional licensing, immigration consequences, and anything else where a conviction would trigger specific penalties.
A stet is also not an acquittal or a dismissal. The charge still exists. It stays visible on the defendant’s criminal record until separate steps are taken to remove it. Someone running a background check will see that you were charged, even though the case was never resolved. For employment, housing, and licensing, an unresolved charge can still create problems.
When a Stet Case Can Be Reopened
A stet doesn’t make the case disappear. Under Rule 4-248, either the prosecution or the defendant can request that a stetted charge be rescheduled for trial within one year, without having to show a reason.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Rules Rule 4-248 – Stet After the first year, the case can still be reopened, but only by court order and only if the party asking shows good cause.
The prosecution’s usual reason for reopening is that the defendant violated the agreed conditions, often by picking up a new charge. A defendant can also ask to reopen, typically when someone who initially accepted the stet later decides they want a trial and a possible acquittal. Rule 4-248 sets no outer time limit on reopening for good cause, so a stetted case could, in theory, come back years later.
Waiving Your Right to a Speedy Trial
Accepting a stet means waiving the right to a speedy trial. If the case is reopened, the defendant cannot argue that the delay violated their constitutional rights. In Branch, defense counsel made this explicit: during the time it takes to complete the stet conditions, or if the case comes back off the inactive docket, “you could not then complain that you had your speedy trial rights violated.”2Appellate Court of Maryland. Allen Bernard Branch v. State of Maryland That’s a real concession, and it’s worth understanding before agreeing.
Clearing a Stet From Your Record
Because a stetted charge lingers, Maryland law provides a path to clean it up through expungement. Under Maryland Criminal Procedure Section 10-105, a person whose charge was indefinitely postponed by a stet may petition to expunge the associated police, court, and other state records.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Procedure 10-105 – Expungement of Record After Charge Is Filed
The waiting period matters. You cannot file the petition until at least three years after the stet was entered on the docket.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Procedure 10-105 If the stet included a drug or alcohol treatment requirement, the three-year clock doesn’t start until treatment is complete. There’s one safety valve: a court can grant expungement at any time on a showing of good cause, even before the three years run out.
Expungement is not automatic. You have to file a petition, and the State can object. If granted, the arrest and court records become inaccessible to the public.
Stet Compared to Nolle Prosequi
Both a stet and a nolle prosequi keep you from being convicted, but they operate differently. A nolle prosequi is the State’s Attorney’s unilateral decision to terminate the prosecution. Under Maryland Rule 4-247, the prosecutor can enter it on the record in open court without the defendant’s consent.5New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Rules Rule 4-247 – Nolle Prosequi Maryland’s Criminal Procedure code defines it as “a formal entry on the record by the State that declares the State’s intention not to prosecute a charge.”6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Procedure 1-101 – Definitions
A nolle prosequi is a one-sided move by the prosecution and dismisses the charge, though the State may retain the ability to refile within the statute of limitations. A stet requires the defendant’s agreement, comes with conditions, and doesn’t dismiss anything. The charge goes dormant, and either side can wake it up.
Stet Compared to Dismissal
A dismissal ends the case. A dismissal with prejudice bars the State from bringing the charges again. A dismissal without prejudice leaves the door open for refiling, but the case itself is finished for the time being.
A stet does neither. The case isn’t resolved, the charges aren’t dropped, and the matter is left suspended while the defendant completes obligations. Weighed against a dismissal, a stet is the lesser outcome: you avoid trial and a possible conviction, but you carry an unresolved charge until you get it expunged or the case is otherwise closed.
Does Any Other State Call It a Stet?
No. The stet is a Maryland mechanism. Other jurisdictions have comparable procedures under different names, most commonly pretrial diversion and deferred prosecution. Federal law recognizes deferred prosecution agreements, where the government pauses a case while the defendant demonstrates good conduct.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3161 – Time Limits and Exclusions Many states run their own versions.
The similarities are real: charges are paused, the defendant completes conditions, and successful completion makes the charges go away. The structural differences matter. Some deferred adjudication programs require the defendant to enter a guilty or no-contest plea before the case is deferred, which produces harsher consequences if the defendant fails to complete the program. A Maryland stet requires no plea at all. Diversion programs also tend to have formal eligibility rules that exclude people with prior felonies or violent histories, while a stet’s availability turns largely on prosecutorial discretion and case-by-case negotiation. If you’re comparing a stet to an offer in another state, whether a plea is required and what happens on failure are the two details to focus on.