Posted on September 02, 2014 in Probation Violations

When a defendant is charged with a probation violation, it means he or she has failed to meet some requirement or condition of a criminal sentence already imposed upon them. The state can bring a Petition to Revoke Probation in order to have the offender’s probation officially revoked by the court and have the offender incarcerated as a result of the violation. These charges are especially serious since they inherently involve the commission of an earlier crime for which the defendant was either found guilty or pleaded guilty and sentenced.

What to Expect Upon Violation of Probation

If the prosecutor files a Petition to Revoke Probation, the offender has a right to deny the charges and have a hearing, at which the court will hear evidence tending to prove a violation occurred. A violation can result from any number of acts, including commission of a new crime, failure to report to a probation officer, and testing positive for drugs or alcohol when they have been expressly prohibited. The offender is entitled to be represented by legal counsel at the hearing on the state’s motion, in addition to having legal representation at the sentencing phase if the court finds they are, in fact, in violation of the terms and conditions of their probation or supervisory portion of their sentence.

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