Gainesville and Ocala Probation Violations Lawyers
Lake City Criminal Defense Attorneys
If you have been charged with a probation violation, the first issue your lawyer must deal with is getting you out of jail. In Florida, you will be jailed prior to your hearing with no right to get out by posting bond. If your probation officer recommends jail, the judge will usually keep you there until your case is resolved.
At the law firm of Schackow Mercadante & Edwards in Gainesville, Florida, our lawyers will work hard to persuade the judge to release you prior to your hearing.
It's important to go to your job, attend classes, perform community service and perform the other requirements of your probation. However, you can't do any of those things while you are in jail. Therefore, our first priority is to get you out of jail so that we can show you are now fulfilling the requirements of your probation.
Consequences of a Probation Violation
Probation violations can range from a technical violation such as not paying your court costs, or not reporting to your probation officer, or failing a drug test, to a material violation of probation such as committing a new crime. In either case, you face serious consequences that could include revocation of your probation.
In Florida, you do not have the right to a jury trial for a probation violation, and prosecutors do not have to prove that you committed the violation "beyond a reasonable doubt." All the prosecutor has to do is convince the judge that you committed the violation to the conscience of the judge − a much lower standard.
If the judge decides that you committed the violation, you can be sentenced for up to the maximum sentence for your original offense. This means that if the maximum sentence was three years in prison, the judge could sentence you to three years in prison for violating your probation.
Defending You in a Probation Violation Case
Prosecutors and judges deal with hundreds of cases of probation violation, and when someone is arrested all they see is a crime. As your lawyers, our goal is to represent you as a real person who is working on the issues that got you in trouble in the first place.
Free attorney consultation: Contact Schackow Mercadante & Edwards in Gainesville, Florida, to talk to a lawyer about your probation violation case.
