In Los Angeles, anyone that does not comply with a term of his or her probation can be found in violation of probation. It is extremely important to speak with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney immediately if you have been charged with a probation violation. A skilled attorney may be able to keep you out of jail.
If you do not hire an attorney to defend your rights in court you may be forced to serve your original jail sentence. Failure to appear for a scheduled meeting with a probation officer is considered a serious probation violation and may be punished severely depending on the original crime committed. Failing to uphold any requirement of probation can be disastrous, including failing to fulfill your court-ordered treatment program, pay fines, or other probation terms.
Our legal team understands what is at stake and will take aggressive action to fight to keep you from having to serve jail time or face additional punishment.
Probation is the most widely used form of correctional supervision across the state of California. Other options for punishment are jail, prison, or parole. Judges typically sentence convicted offenders to some form of probation supervision as an alternative to jail or prison time.
When a judge is working to make a decision about probation, their decision will be informed by input from public defenders, district attorneys, and the probation department.
At Okabe & Haushalter, we have helped countless clients successfully overcome probation violation charges. In many cases, if your probation officer believes that you have not complied with your probation, you can be arrested and charged. Even if the alleged violation is extremely minor, the penalties can have a dramatic effect on your life. If you have been charged with probation violation for any of the following reasons, speak with an attorney from our firm today:
No matter what type of probation violation you are being charged with, we may be able to help. In some cases, extenuating circumstances prevent the person on probation from completing a term of probation. We have demonstrated this to the court and been able to keep the individual we are representing out of jail and able to continue successfully with their probation.
When we examine the Penal Code 1203.2, Rules for Probation Violations in California, we can see that there are various penalties associated with probation violations in this state. When a violation occurs, a judge can:
Depending on the facts of the case, a judge could decide to:
Of course, there are going to be significant differences depending on the severity of the offense for which the person is on probation. For example, violating felony probation is going to result in more severe consequences than violating misdemeanor probation.
When a person has allegedly violated their probation, there will be a probation violation hearing. This is a legal proceeding in a criminal court case where a judge will determine whether or not the defendant has indeed violated the terms and conditions of their probation in California. A probation hearing will occur for violations of either a misdemeanor or felony probation. This will often be referred to as a “probation revocation hearing.”
For a probation violation hearing, there are special evidentiary rules that do not apply in typical court cases. For example, there is a lower standard of proof when it comes to proving guilt for a probation violation than for proving guilt for criminal trials. Additionally, hearsay evidence is admissible in probation violation hearings.
There are various legal defenses that an individual accused of violating probation (or their attorney) could employ to potentially improve the outcome of their case. Some of these strategies include:
When looking at that last bullet point, we do you want to point out that if a judge imposes a jail or prison sentence, the defendant will be entitled to credit for time previously served in jail or prison for the criminal offense. In other words, the jail or prison sentence will not be restarted for the original offense if a probation violation occurs. However, if no jail or prison time has been served for the offense, it is possible for the judge to impose the entire original sentence on the convicted person.
Contact a Los Angeles Probation Violations Lawyer from the firm today.
