Texas Probation Violation: What happens if the probation office threatens to revoke my community supervision?
Have you been charged with a Texas probation violation, or are you concerned you might be? If you have been placed on Community Supervision (“Probation”) then you have already gained some experience in how the system is in many ways set up for people to fail.
Regardless of why you are on probation, it is likely that similar to the rest of us, you are struggling financially, personally, and professionally. Unfortunately, the Courts and the Probation Office don’t always care about your troubles and expect you to pay fines, court costs, monthly reporting fees, expensive sign-up fees for mandatory classes, and for many other things that you can’t afford.
The Court also expects you to spend a lot of time that you don’t have by showing up at the probation office, doing community service, spending hours taking expensive classes, and any number of other time-consuming conditions.
Just to comply with all of these demands costs more money because you have to lose hours of pay due to taking time off from work, paying someone to care for your kids, and paying for a ride. These are more hidden fees you must pay just to be on probation.
Unsurprisingly, you missed a few payments or a few classes because you have to pay rent, buy groceries, take care of your kids, go to school, go to work, pay off debt, can’t afford a car ….etc. As a result, your probation officer has asked the prosecutor to file a motion with the Court to revoke your probation and send you to jail.
What are the consequences of Revocation?
If the Court agrees to revoke your probation, you could face several consequences.
The most significant consequence is that the Court could sentence you to serve time in jail. The amount of time that you face depends on several factors including the type of probation that you were on (Straight vs. Deferred), the type of criminal offense, and exactly how you violated the terms of probation.
Another significant consequence arises if you were on Deferred Adjudication-Community Supervision. In this case, you agreed to a plea bargain with the State wherein exchange for your guilty plea, the Judge placed you on probation but did not enter your guilty plea. The incentive was for you to avoid having a criminal conviction on your record if you successfully completed probation. If the Court revokes your probation under these conditions, then the judge will enter your original plea of guilty and you will have a final conviction on your criminal record.
Additionally, if you are ever charged with another criminal offense in the future, then the possibility that the Court will allow you to go on probation will likely be much lower.
This is not an exhaustive list of consequences but is intended to point out that allowing the Court to revoke your probation is a serious matter.
What do you do?
There are several options you can choose if you are facing a probation revocation. These options include arranging for you to current the issues that the probation officer accused you of violating, being re-instated on probation but for a longer term, or holding a formal hearing on the merits of the State’s motion to revoke your probation.
The likelihood of success varies drastically from county to county and depends heavily on the type of violation you were convicted for, the culture of the surrounding community, and the ideology of the individual judge presiding.
What should you do if you have a Texas Probation Violation?
If you are facing a probation revocation you need an experienced attorney who is familiar with the process and who can guide you to the best outcome. Please contact Carter Criminal Defense today for a FREE consultation to explore what options are best for you.