Is a guilty plea with a withheld adjudication a "conviction" in Florida?

Joseph Peter Clarke was convicted in federal court of being a felon in possession of a firearm due to a Florida case where he plead guilty to a felony, but received a "withheld adjudication".   As anyone who has read my book knows -- Florida case law says this is not a "conviction" under Florida law, whereas the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has held the opposite, saying that only a "no contest" plea with a "withheld" would not constitute a conviction, although more recent 11th Circuit cases have called this interpretation into question, but refused to confront the issue.   However,  the 11th Circuit has finally come to grips with this in the Clarke case [United States v. Clarke, 780 F.3d 1131(11th Cir. 2015)], and sent a certified question to the Florida Supreme Court, retaining jurisdiction in the Clarke appeal pending the answer.

That answer recently came in Clarke v. United States, 41 Fla.L.Weekly S.41 (Fla. 2/11/16), where the Florida Supreme Court answered the question, and held that a guilty plea with a withheld adjudication did not constitute a "conviction" under Florida law, because the essence of a withheld adjudication is that the court has determined the defendant is not likely to reengage in further criminal conduct, and that justice and the welfare of society do not require the defendant suffer the ordinary penalties.  Thus,  with the Florida Supreme Court now answering the question in this direct manner -- the 11th Circuit is now open to revisit the issue -- and in my opinion, it will likely reverse its position, and recognize that a withheld adjudication in Florida does not constitute a conviction irregardless of whether the plea was one of "guilty", or one of "no contest".    While this may take several additional months before a decision is reached and published -- it is significant that the 11th Circuit made the inquiry, and may also be a signal that the federal appellate court is becoming more sensitive to judicial honesty, rather than blindly relying on judicial precedent.   Time will tell.