Probation
Probation Instead Of Jail Time
Probation is known as a substitute of jail time, but on many occasions can be used in addition to jail time. Probation can start as soon as the verdict is entered at the Orange County Court, which means that the defendant will be on probation while he is in jail. Jail is not such a safe place and there are many people in very small space. Some of them very nervous because of being locked up, while the others – especially drug addicts, go through certain crises which makes them more upset and they often look how to release that negative energy by getting in conflict with out inmates. If an individual gets sentenced to jail time combined with probation and his probation starts even before he goes to jail, it is definitely advisable that he (or she) should be very careful on every single step while in jail, not to get in trouble. This might not be an easy job, since correctional facilities know how to put more than a hundred people in the same dorm. If an inmate “picks-up” another charge while being locked-up, besides being charged for the crime, he will also face a probation violation. When this happens, the defendant will most likely not be legally able to use the services of a Santa Ana bail bonds agent.
Different types of probation
As earlier stated, laws are different in each state, but there are some universal things and terminology applicable to all the states. Terms of probation are almost the same in all the states, while there are several different types of probation. The most common one would be standard probation which requires paying the fee and completing the classes relevant to the case. In this type of standard probation, the defendant does not have a probation officer, but he has court hearings every few months. Whenever he appears in court, he needs to present supporting favorable evidence that he complies with the terms of probation. Another type of probation would be supervised probation. This type of probation is stricter than the standard one. The defendant needs to report to probation department or probation officer on regular basis. If the case involves alcohol or drug abuse, there will be classes or counseling assigned, while the defendant might have an obligation to take the drug tests on regular basis.
Community Service
Many times, some short time jail sentence can be replaced with community service. Community service stands for unpaid work that would benefit the local Orange County community. The order is usually issued in number of hours which the defendant needs to complete. If the defendant does not complete the required number of hours, he would have to serve the time in jail. Community service is still more convenient for the majority of defendants than jail, since there is an option of working only on weekends or around a regular job schedule. From that point of view, community service does not interfere with the defendant’s life by throwing him off the track like jail time does. The regular job will be kept, rent and loan payments made, time with family spent. Not all the cases qualify for community service. In real life, it is well known that low misdemeanor offences such as trespassing or petty theft know how to result in community service, especially if this is going to be the first time offence on the record. The District Attorney as well as the probation service (if applicable) will be deciding if they are going to offer community service to the defendant as a part of the plea bargain.
Probation violation consequences
If the defendant has a probation officer and violated terms of probation, the officer might petition the court and request imprisonment for violation of probation. On the other hand, if the defendant does not have a probation officer assigned, but he is supposed to appear regularly to the court, any type of non-compliance might lead to jail. In both of these cases, the defendant will have an opportunity to challenge mentioned statements and prove that he actually complied with terms of probation. The defendant also has the right to be represented by a criminal defense attorney. A good example would be in the case that he did not appear at the court hearing because he was in the hospital on medical treatment. Strong evidence would be needed to support any type of statement made by the defendant. Consequences of violation depend on circumstances, such as original offense and sentence, how far the defendant complied with probation terms before the violation occurred, defendant’s criminal history, reasons for violation etc. More serious violations would be the ones where the defendant committed another crime, especially if that crime is of the same nature like the one that he originally got sentenced for. Probation revocation would be another term that is used during the probation violation proceedings, where the probation would be revoked as a result of violation.
Earlier termination of probation
In many states, the defendant might try to terminate his probation earlier by complying with all court orders. In addition to that, some legal grounds must be established, especially the time of probation completed. Majority of the states would allow the defendant to file motion for earlier termination of probation after the fifty percent of probation time has been completed. Earlier termination of probation is usually granted if there is a reasonable belief that the defendant will not repeat the crime or that he is not dangerous to the community. The defendant should indicate that termination of probation would help him obtain or keep the current job or help him travel outside of the state (country) for some specific meaningful reason. Earlier termination of probation is not granted often, but it is worth to try to present all favorable facts. Just because the person on probation may be residing in the city in which he was originally arrested does not mean he will have to keep in contact with the Newport Beach bail bonds agent who initially bailed him out.