Los Angeles Probation Violation Defense Lawyer
I've been defending people with probation violations in the Los Angeles court system for twenty-five years, and a bench warrant was issued for their arrest. Typically, a probation violation can either be an internal or an external violation. An internal violation has to do with violating one of the terms and conditions of your probation that the judge set.
An external violation involves actually picking up a new case or arrest, and the prosecutor indicates that you violated your probation because of that new arrest. The courts will often just continue the probation violation to see what happens with the latest arrest before they do anything about it.
When it comes to a probation violation, though, the standard differs from that for a criminal offense. All the prosecutors have to do is prove that you violated your probation by 51%, and that will be a violation. You will be subject to the maximum term for whatever you initially pled guilty to.
A probation violation is also not heard in front of a jury. It's heard in front of the judge who took your plea – or whoever the judge is handling the case – once a probation violation occurs.
Often, giving the judge a solution as to why you're not going to get yourself in this position again is worth its weight in gold.
I like to sit down, show the judge where my client is at, explain why whatever happened, happened and then we will come up with a plan and explain it to the judge – this is what we're going to do – here are the steps we're going to take so you don't see us again, so, my client completes probation and can get out of the criminal justice system.
Because if you continue to violate your probation, it can be extended. If you're looking to get your case either dropped to a misdemeanor or attempting to get your probation terminated and then later getting the case expunged, if you're eligible for that, if you get probation violations, this can end up stopping you from doing so.
What is Probation?
Probation is an alternative to jail or prison time. You may receive formal or informal probation.
Formal probation requires regular meetings with your probation officer, and informal probation requires staying out of trouble and completing certain terms of the sentence.
Completion of probation may allow you to avoid incarceration altogether. On the other hand, if you violate probation, an arrest may occur, and you may be ordered to appear at a court hearing. As your probation violations defense attorney, we want to do everything we can to help you avoid jail time.
In probation violation cases, the judge is the trier of facts, and the prosecution must prove that there was a probation violation by a preponderance of the evidence. This standard is much lower than the standard used in a criminal case, which is more of a reason to hire our aggressive, persistent, knowledgeable attorneys.
What Are the Defenses for Alleged Violations?
The best defense is to show that you're innocent and that you did not violate your probation, and the prosecutors have it wrong. Sometimes, it's not the prosecutors who are claiming you violated the probation.
Sometimes, the probation officer claims that you didn't cooperate with them. Therefore, they send the case to court for probation violation and write a report indicating how and why you violated your probation. As a defendant, you are entitled to a probation violation hearing.
At this time, your attorney can cross-examine any witnesses that the prosecutors put up to establish the probation violation. I have cross-examined many witnesses, including probation officers. Once all of the facts are flushed out, a lot of times, the judge is not going to violate your probation because they don't believe it's an actual violation.
Sometimes, it's a clash of personalities between you. Your probation officer, or your probation officer, thinks they have too much power than they actually do and is just trying to order you around to do stupid stuff that doesn't have anything to do with your probation.
They are getting emotional and personal about things. If we can point this out to the judge, then we can avoid a probation violation.
What If You Know You Violated Your Probation?
Just because you violated your probation in Los Angeles Court doesn't necessarily mean the judge must send you to jail or prison. There are other alternatives. Sometimes, the judge can just warn you—tell you, "If you do this again, then I'm going to send you to jail."
Sometimes, the judge can devise other solutions than jail or prison. He could give you:
- Community service,
- Caltrans,
- Community Labor,
- A fine, or
- Extension of your probation.
There are many different solutions and strategies that can be utilized when it comes to a probation violation in Los Angeles County. My job as the attorney is to try to come up with a solution before we go to the probation violation hearing.
A solution that takes into account your job, your life, your family, and all the things that are important to you. We make sure we convey these to the judge. I also explain to the judge exactly what happened—why you supposedly violated your probation—and what we're going to do moving forward so the judge doesn't see you again.
A lot of this the judges are sick and tired of having people come in and out of their courtroom, so to prevent that, they can send them away for a lengthy jail or prison sentence, and then once the person serves their time, hopefully, they're done with them, and they don't see them again.
If they send them to prison, that person is no longer on probation, so the judge doesn't have to deal with him anymore.
So, with this temptation in mind, you have to realize – don't violate your probation. If you do violate your probation, you better hire somebody like me.
I can figure out a solution that works, that makes sense, and that can allow you to continue to lead a good life and do what you need to do to take care of your family and continue with your life.
There are many consequences to a probation violation charge, such as an extension of the probationary period, community service, treatment programs, and prison or jail time. Probation violations have serious charges, so you must obtain an experienced and well-seasoned defense attorney if you face probation violation charges.
Contact us for a free consultation so we can discuss things further. The Hedding Law Firm is based in Los Angeles, CA.
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