If you’ve been arrested and convicted of a crime, you probably don’t have the best luck to begin with. So even if you got probation instead of getting sent straight to jail, you are probably worried about what could happen if you’re accused of violating your probation. What if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time? What if you have a false positive on a drug test? What happens then?
Probation is an alternative to serving jail time, but it comes with certain responsibilities that you must fulfill. It is essentially a contract with the state—but you must uphold your end of the bargain. Probation is only a privilege, not a right.
Informal vs. formal probation
Typically, probation in California lasts from three to five years, but the judge has the authority to set probation for as many years as you could have been sentenced to jail or prison. If you have committed a misdemeanor, you might only have informal probation (also called summary probation). Rather than have to check in with a probation officer regularly, you must appear before a judge occasionally to give a progress report. For serious crimes like felonies, you’ll receive formal probation and you’ll need to check in with a probation officer regularly.
Don’t make these mistakes!
Here are some of the most common ways people violate probation in Southern California:
- Committing a new crime
- Failing to check in with the probation officer and obey instructions
- Failing to appear for a hearing in court (FTA)
- Not paying court costs, fees, or victim restitution
- Failing a drug test or not attending drug treatment
- Possessing prohibited items, such as drugs, alcohol, or firearms.
What happens when I have to go back to court?
If you are caught violating the terms of your probation, you might just get a warning from your probation officer, or you might have to appear before a judge for a probation hearing. Unlike at trial, it’s usually probably pretty clear whether you violated the terms of your parole. So it comes down to what the judge decides to do about it. The judge can look at your record and listen to your side of the story, as well as what the probation department has to say. The judge might revoke your probation and send you to jail, modify your probation with new terms and conditions, or simply reinstate it as before.
The judge may also be restricted by what the original judge who sentenced you ordered. The judge has some leeway if you were given an “imposition of sentence suspended” (ISS) that didn’t set a specific amount of jail time. If you have an ISS and violate your probation, you might get anything from a warning, 1-3 months in jail, on up to having to serve the maximum sentence possible for that crime. If the original judge did set an exact amount of jail time, known as “execution of sentence suspended” (ESS), you will probably have to serve out that sentence.
Do you have questions about your probation hearing?
Don’t leave it to chance, or the sympathy of the judge! Get an expert criminal defense attorney—one who has experience with probation hearings, which are different from typical criminal trials. If you have questions about your upcoming probation hearing, talk to top Southern California criminal defense attorney Dan E. Chambers. Call 714-760-4088 or email dchambers@clfca.com today to make an appointment for your free consultation.
