Violation of Probation

Just about every Federal felony carries behind a term of incarceration a period where one is on a probation like status called supervised release. For all intents and purposes supervised release is just like probation in that you will be monitored by a Federal probation officer, will forego certain rights while on supervision, and will have to meet certain requirements laid out by the Court specific to your case in addition to those general requirements for anyone on supervised release. For the most part as long as you mind your P’s and Q’s you won’t have an issue with a potential violation. Should you slip up, depending on the severity of the slip up, you could receive anywhere from nothing more than a stern coming to Jesus conversation from your Federal Probation Officer all the way up to several more years in a Federal prison. Regardless of your violation, because you were on Federal probation, you need to speak to a Federal violation of supervised release attorney quickly to generate a strategy.

A violation of Federal Supervised release occurs when you commit a new crime or you technically violate your supervised release by dropping a dirty urine, miss a meeting with your Federal probation officer, or some other minor type of conduct that technically violates the terms of your supervised release. As with any criminal offense, the sentencing potential is related to the seriousness of the alleged violation. The severity levels are classified as follows:
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Lindsay Lohan appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom again yesterday to answer to charges that she violated her probation stemming from a jewelry theft in 2011 in addition to the crimes alleged to have been the basis for her probation violation. Lohan currently faces charges for reckless driving, lying to police and obstructing police stemming from her claim that she was not behind the wheel of her car when it crashed into a truck in Santa Monica, California this past June. Lohan, who seemingly has been in and out of trouble since she’s been old enough to say “trouble” was at one time doubtful for attending her mandatory court date. Lohan, who recently fired her long time Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Shawn Holley had a letter submitted by her current attorney Mark Heller indicating that she was in poor health and wasn’t able to attend her hearing. It is thought that because several tabloids published pictures of her shopping over the past weekend and appearing in good health that Lohan changed her mind and elected to attend her hearing for fear of a warrant being issued for her arrest.

All States being a little bit different in their handling of criminal matters, were Lohan’s legal issues in Florida I don’t believe there would be an issue of whether or not she is going to appear in court consistently. In Florida if one is put on probation they are always subject to violating such probation by not complying with the requirements found in Florida Statute 948.03. Generally if they violate that probation through a technical violation a “no bond” warrant will be issued or if they violate by committing new crime amounting to arrest they will go to jail with a bond on their new case but no bond on the violation of probation. Since Lohan is accused of violating her 2011 probation by a new law violation, had this happened in Florida it is doubtful Lohan would have been granted a bond considering her inability to avoid getting in trouble while on probation. As a Tampa criminal attorney I can say that in our area if one had the track record of Ms. Lohan and was in a similar situation as her, I cannot think of any of our local Tampa Bay area criminal judges who would be willing to give her a bond.
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Articles Posted in Violation of Probation

So You’ve Violated Your Federal Supervised Release… What now?

Lindsay Lohan Reckless Driving Trial and Violation of Probation Date Set in Los Angeles Court