Violation of Probation (VOP)

A sentencing judge will sometimes give someone probation instead of sending that person to jail.  In exchange for being allowed freedom from incarceration, the person, or “probationer” as oftentimes referred to, agrees to comply with a number of standard conditions of probation, and depending upon the case, will agree to abide by a number of special conditions.  Probation can be for a few months or a few years, depending upon a number of factors.

While on probation, the probationer is supervised by a probation agent.  This person’s job is to make sure that the probationer does the things the probationer promised he or she would do in order to stay out of jail.  Sometimes, the probationer does not comply, and this results in the probation agent notifying the Court, which then can bring the probationer back to the sentencing judge to determine what, if anything, should happen. 

In the more serious cases, such as when a subsequent crime is committed while a person is on probation, the resulting violation of probation could bring lengthy jail time.  In other cases, however, the violation can be the result of something as simple as not following up on paying restitution, failing to complete drug treatment or counseling, or missing a meeting with a probation agent.  In either case, our criminal defense attorneys routinely handle violations of probation for clients, generally with favorable results.