Probation is seen as a second life by defendants, and it indeed is. But the probation life is not as easy as it may look from the outside. There are many instances when you can violate the rules of probation without even knowing it. A New Jersey probation attorney can help you understand the terms and protect yourself in this situation.
When you have committed a crime for the first time or if the crime is minor and the judge is generous to you, they will put you on probation instead of sending you to jail. This is a perfect opportunity as you can live your life with your friends and family.
However, the complications are not minor. There are countless numbers of ways that you can violate your probation rules. And once you get arrested for violating your probation rules, only a reasonable attorney can defend you.
Standard rules of probation:
- No use of drugs/alcohol
- Obeying curfews
- Reporting to probation officer whenever required
- Doing required community service
- Not violating any other laws along with probation laws
- Not owning guns or arms
- Electronic monitoring
- Paying all fines
- Drug testing
What happens when you violate a probation rule?
While minor violations won’t cause any consequences, major ones will land you considerable penalties.
Here are a few consequences of violating your probation.
- Your probation period may be extended to five years.
- Your probation may be terminated, and you may be sent to jail for a short or long term.
- The conditions of your probation might be changed, and more rules may be added.
- If you had unsupervised probation, it might be changed to a supervised one.
Why do you need a good probation lawyer?
Probation hearings are different from other criminal hearings. Since you are already under probation, you won’t have the traditional protections of the law. This is why you need a reasonable criminal attorney who can defend you and protect your rights.
Imagine you violated your probation by failing on the drug/alcohol test. This can terminate your probation and possibly send you to jail for good. In this scenario, a lawyer can help you convince the judge to set stricter rules for drug/alcohol consumption instead of incarcerating you.
Here’s another scenario. Suppose you are on probation for substance abuse, and you are charged with theft while on probation. Then you will have new cases against yourself. Attorneys can defend you against the new charges.
Comments are closed.