Rather than sentencing a defendant to a prison term, a judge may possibly choose to sentence a defendant to probation. Probation releases a defendant back into the community, however the defendant does not have the same degree of independence as a regular citizen. Probation comes with conditions that restrict a probationer's behavior, and if the probationer violates one of those conditions, the court may perhaps revoke or change the probation.
Courts typically grant probation for first-time or low-risk offenders. Statutes determine when probation is possible, nevertheless it is up to the sentencing judge to ascertain whether or not to actually allow probation.
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While sentencing judges have this latitude, they must still remain within the statutory limits when granting probation. For example, a judge can't impose probation for a period longer than the maximum sentence prescribed by statute.
Probation has three primary goals:
- To rehabilitate the defendant
- To safeguard society from further criminal conduct by the defendant
- To protect the legal rights of the victims
Once a judge has granted probation, the matter moves into the jurisdiction of probation officers, who monitor the probationer’s compliance with the terms of the probation.
Probation Conditions
Conditions are an inherent part of probation. Judges set conditions in order to meet the goals for probation stated above. A probationer should comply with these conditions or else the court could very well impose a prison sentence or add more restrictive conditions to their probation.
Courts often have a great deal of discretion when setting probation conditions, nevertheless that doesn’t mean that judges may set whatever terms they want. Probation conditions should be reasonable. This means that the conditions can never be vindictive, vague, overbroad or arbitrary. Furthermore, the conditions must be related to the protection of the public. Also, if the judge wishes to impose special conditions, those conditions need to relate to the nature of the crime that the probationer committed.
Judges set the conditions, nevertheless probation officers enforce them. If a probation officer finds probable cause to believe that the probationer has violated the terms of the probation, the judge could possibly either change the terms of the probation or revoke the probation and impose a prison sentence.
Probation Revocation
Because the probationer’s freedom is at stake, however, the probationer has to receive some procedural due process before a court revokes their probation. While the ruling to revoke probation, just like the decision to grant probation, is at the court’s discretion, the court must go through a few procedural requirements before revoking probation. The probationer defending revocation doesn’t have as many legal rights during revocation proceedings as they do throughout the original criminal trial, however.
In order to revoke probation, a court has to provide the probationer with notice of the proposed revocation and conduct a hearing on the matter. The probationer has a right to testify at the hearing, present supporting witnesses, and confront the witnesses against them. The probationer also has a right to a neutral hearing body, and has to receive a written statement containing the reasons for revoking probation.
If there is sufficient evidence, a violation of even a single condition can certainly lead to revocation of probation. The violated condition needs to be valid, however. If a condition is later on found to be unreasonable then violation of that condition will not constitute grounds for revocation.
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If you are charged with violating the terms of your parole or probation or have questions relating to a potential probation criminal offense, make sure you call the Recommended Houston Lawyer anytime for a no cost preliminary consultation.