Probation Violations
Probation is a form of court-ordered supervision that is often imposed instead of sentencing an individual to a period of incarceration. As a condition of a probation sentence, a period of jail time may be suspended pending compliance with the probationary sentence. When you are sentenced to probation you typically have to follow these terms:
- Regularly meet with a probation officer.
- Submit to random drug and/or alcohol testing (and pass these tests – which means that individual cannot use drugs or alcohol during the term of his probation).
- Not commit additional crimes – or be accused of committing additional crimes.
- Show up to all future court dates associated with the case.
- Pay all court fines.
- Complete any court-ordered therapy, education or other programs.
- Complete any court-ordered community service.
If the individual fails to comply with any of these terms of his probation, he can be charged with a probation violation and, as a result:
- Be immediately sent to jail to serve out the sentence that had been suspended.
- Face a probation violations hearing (which is described below).
- Face additional criminal charges that are associated with their own additional penalties upon conviction.
Probation Violation Hearings and Convictions
Unlike a trial associated with other criminal charges, probation violations hearings do not have juries and do not require prosecutors to prove a person’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead:
- Only a judge presides over a probation violation hearing.
- Prosecutors only have to prove that it is more likely than not that the accused person violated the terms of probation in order to prevail in the revocation hearing.
- Upon conviction, after probation has been revoked, the individual can be resentenced to any sentence that could have been originally imposed.
Regardless of the nature of the probation violations charges you are facing, our criminal defense lawyer will work relentlessly to help you obtain the best possible outcome to your case. In fact, at Griffin Law Firm our commitment to the notion that the accused are innocent until proven guilty means that we will do everything in our power to weaken the prosecutor’s case at every stage of the legal process. The Griffin Law Firm offers clients more than 18 years of criminal law experience. Part of this experience is aggressively defending the rights of the accused for the past four years.
Contact Us Today
Let’s discuss your defense. To receive a complete evaluation of your case, along with professional advice regarding your best options for moving forward, contact us by calling 303-280-1070 or by emailing us using the form at the top of this page.
The accused are innocent until proven guilty and we believe everyone deserves to be treated fairly.
Christopher Griffin
It is our goal to ensure that every person charged with a crime is given the experienced and caring representation they deserve.
Christopher Griffin