Probation Revocations in Georgia

So you are here because you either violated your probation, or you know someone who has. So what next? First calm down, a probation revocation does not automatically mean you will be sent to jail. Let’s read about what a probation revocation hearing is and how we can handle one.

What are the different types of probation violations?

• Technical

A technical violation is a violation that doesn’t carry new charges. It occurs when you fail to follow the probation requirements. For instance, when you don’t report to probation or you don’t pay a fine.

• Substantive

A substantive violation is a violation that does carry new charges. If you are on probation and got arrested for a new charge while on probation, this is a substantive violation. When this occurs the probation agency will usually put a hold on you and you will have your probation revocation proceeding once the new charges have been disposed of.

Let’s look at a scenario: You are on a 2-year probation and before your 2 years have expired you get a new arrest for armed robbery. Now flash forward, you beat your armed robbery case and it gets dismissed. Now you think you are getting out of jail and moving on with your life. Well slow down, because probation most likely put a hold on you once you got arrested and violated your probation and now you will not be released until you have your probation revocation hearing. Although your new charges were dismissed, simply getting arrested is a probation violation and will result in a probation revocation hearing.

Can the probation officer pause my probation?

Yes! Many people don’t know that if you violate your probation, the probation officer can toll or pause your probation. What a tolling order does is temporarily stops your probation from running. For instance, if you have a year of probation left and don’t report to probation, the officer will attach a tolling order to the warrant that stops the probation from running/expiring. That way when you are finally arrested you will still have a year of probation left.

However, if the probation officer does not properly attach a tolling order to the warrant and your probation expires then your probation is over and you will not have an extra year. The tolling order will be deemed null and void and its nothing they can do about it!

What happens during a probation revocation hearing?

The probation revocation hearing is different than a trial hearing. You are not entitled to a jury trial, and the prosecution does not have to prove that your revoked your probation beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead they only have to prove that its more probable than not that you violated terms of your probation also called “preponderance of evidence”.

If they are successful in proving that you violated your probation the judge has a variety of different options to sentence you to.  For instance, upon a revoked probation, a judge may add an extra length to the probation, impose additional fines, or require you get counseling or attend other treatment programs. A judge may order you to serve a brief period of time in jail, or require you to serve the time allotted on your original sentence, depending on the circumstances.

What to do if you have been accused of violating your probation?

If you or someone you know has been accused of violating probation, give Bixon Law a call. We have helped many of our clients fight the probation officers in probation revocation hearings. At Bixon Law, we devote 100% of our time to helping our clients fight criminal law matters. Don’t take your case to an attorney that specializes in everything, here we specialize in one thing and that’s Criminal Defense. Call us 24/7 at (404) 551-5684.