Tuesday Tip: Probation and How to Shorten It

Probation is the suspension of a jail or prison sentence, on the condition the defendant agree to behave himself, engage in specific rehabilitation programs and allow himself to be supervised for a specific amount of time. Upon being sentenced, there may be some local jail time to be served, or the judge may suspend all of the jail or prison time, on the condition the defendant serve probation.

Probation is an opportunity for the defendant to demonstrate he does not have to spend a long time in jail or prison in order to stay out of trouble in the future.

Staying out of trouble in the future, of course, is not the only goal of sentencing. The primary goals of sentencing are: the protection of society, retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation. A sentence that is longer than necessary to accomplish any of these goals is an unreasonable sentence. Most misdemeanor offenses do not have minimum sentences; in those cases, the judge may impose a sentence for a particular number of days and suspend it all, on the condition the defendant successfully complete a period of probation.

In a felony case, there will be a set sentence for a period of years in prison.  However, many felony cases do not require a minimum sentence, and in those cases, if there are no aggravating circumstances, the judge will usually impose some local jail time or a "rider" (3-10 months in a pre-prison "boot camp") and then a period of probation.

If you find yourself on probation, there are ways to make your time less onerous.  Realize that your probation officer has far more people to supervise than he would like.  You need to demonstrate to your probation officer that you are the probationer who will not miss appointments.  You are the one who will not be late for an appointment.  You are the one who will not miss or fail a drug test.  You are the one who doesn't hide drugs at his home or keep beer in his fridge.  You are the one who never misses a class, if taking a class is assigned to you as a condition of probation.  You are the one who pays his fines and restitution on time or in advance.  You are the one who does not change his address without first notifying the probation office.  

If you demonstrate to your probation officer that you don't want to cause trouble or make his work harder, he will eventually put you on "informal" probation or let you off early.  

In Idaho, if you complete all your conditions of probation early and have your fines and restitution paid, you can be released after serving 1/2 of your probation time.  

Good behavior while doing probation is rewarded.


***********************************************************************************************************************

Allen Browning is an attorney in Idaho Falls, Idaho who handles personal injury and criminal defense. He has over 30 years of experience and handled thousands of cases. Allen work with cases from all over Idaho. Call (208) 542-2700 to set up a free consultation if you are facing legal trouble or you have been involved in an accident.

Also, check out browninglaw.net for more information about Allen and Browning Law.

Allen Browning can help with all personal injury claims including motor vehicle accidents, serious and disabling accidents, and wrongful death claims.

Allen Browning is an Idaho Falls attorney who can also help with drunk driving (DUI) , Felony, Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, Drug Crimes, Theft, Juvenile Crimes, Violent Crimes, and Probation/Parole Violations. He is one of the most experienced and successful criminal defense attorneys in Idaho.

 Sources for more information:

http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/P/Probation.aspx

http://www.idoc.idaho.gov/content/probation_and_parole/probation_and_parole_services

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 Things Lawyers Can't Tell Jurors

Image
 It is a trial lawyer's job to educate jurors, and tell them what they need to know in order to decide cases. Despite this, there are many things, true things, that lawyers are not allowed to tell jurors directly in statements to the jury or indirectly through testimony of their witnesses. Lawyers know these things, though, and I thought you might like to know some of things. #1. A lawyer can't tell the jurors anything that happened during settlement negotiations. He cannot let the jurors know, when asking them to make the defendant pay his client $100,000 that the defendant agreed to pay him $80,000 prior to the trial. The reason for this is that you want settlement negotiations to be very open. You don't want to damage a negotiation session because someone is afraid that what they say will get repeated to a jury if you don't strike a deal. #2 In Idaho, a lawyer can't tell the jurors that the defendant has insurance. In many other states, he can. Bec...
Read more

OBAMA APPOINTEE DENIES GIULIANI ABILITY TO DEFEND HIMSELF, RESULTS IN $148 MILLION JUDGMENT

Image
In the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 protests, Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to pay over $148 million in damages to two Georgia election workers named by the former New York mayor.  What has not been explained to the general public is that there was never any trial concerning whether Mr. Giuliani had actually slandered or libeled these two persons.   In the case of Giuliani, the two Georgia election workers listed as plaintiffs in the suit against Giuliani sued him for saying they engaged in what amounted to election fraud.  They are allowed to ask the defendant ex-mayor for documents relevant to their suit and to his defense. These women brought their case against Giuliani in a jurisdiction that is heavily populated with Democrats.  They could have sued in their home state, Georgia, but did not. They wanted a jury pool of anti-Trump democrats, so they sued in Washington, D.C. They managed to get an incredibly biased Barack Obama-appointed, anti-Trump judge....
Read more

Man Framed by Prosecutor Released After 29 Years in Prison Seeking Lawsuit

Image
19 year old, Charise Kamps, was found raped and strangled to death in her apartment in June 1980. Ralph Armstrong told the police that both of them were at the apartment alone doing cocaine before leaving to go see friends around 9:30 pm. Police said that they learned that Armstrong owed Kamp's boyfriend $400 and witnesses saw Armstrong handing Kamps money that night. However, the money was not found in the apartment, and Armstrong deposited $315 in his bank the next day.The defense argued that he got the money from his brother. One of the neighbors saw a lean, muscular man about 5 feet 5 inches tall with long, dark hair drive up to the apartment. Before the identification process, the police had the witness hypnotized. He was shown a photograph of Armstrong, and After being hypnotized, the witness changed the height of the man he saw. Later at a lineup to have the witness select the man he saw, he chose Armstrong. The other people in the lineup were police officers in wigs...
Read more