The court shall hold a hearing and, after consideration of any information relevant to its decision, shall determine if the defendant consents to further proceedings under this chapter and if the defendant should be granted deferred entry of judgment. If the court does not deem the defendant a person who would be benefited by deferred entry of judgment, or if the defendant does not consent to participate, the proceedings shall continue as in any other case.
At the time that deferred entry of judgment is granted, any bail bond or undertaking, or deposit in lieu thereof, on file by or on behalf of the defendant shall be exonerated, and the court shall enter an order so directing.
The period during which deferred entry of judgment is granted shall be for no less than 18 months nor longer than three years. Progress reports shall be filed by the probation department with the court as directed by the court.