Probation Violations

Tucson Probation Violation Attorney

Probation violations in Tucson are taken very seriously. You have the possibility of being sent to the Arizona Department of Corrections as a result of a probation violation. Prosecutors and probation officers routinely ask judges to send probationers to prison for probation violations. We have experience defending people faced with probation revocation proceedings. It is important to have experienced Tucson Probation Violation Attorney to advocate on your behalf. If faced with a Tucson probation violation, call us for assistance.

The Pima County Adult Probation office supervises people on probation in Tucson and Pima County. A person may be placed on Intensive Probation (I.P.S.), Standard Probation, or Aggravated DUI caseload. Whatever the case may, probation officers take probation violations very seriously, and will not hesitate to petition the court to violate a person’s probation and ask that a prison sentence be imposed if they are not complying with the terms of their probation. A petition to revoke probation may be based on 1) failure to complete treatment, 2) failure to maintain employment, 3) failure to drug test, 4) failure to report to probation, and 5) getting new charges.

Arrest Warrant for Probation Violation

If a probation officer believes a person has violated probation, the probation officer may file a petition to revoke probation with the court, generally with the same judge that sentenced the person to probation. The court, with the probation officer’s input, has the discretion to issue an arrest warrant to bring the person to court for probation revocation proceedings. Alternatively, the court may issue a summons to appear to the person, which is sent through the mail, and notifies the person to appear at a specific date and time for an initial appearance/arraignment.

Probation Revocation Proceedings

It is important to have an experienced Tucson probation violation attorney with you during this process.  A probation revocation proceeding consists of 3 parts: 1) Initial Appearance/Arraignment, 2) Revocation Hearing, and 3) Disposition Hearing.

Initial Appearance/Arraignment on Petition to Revoke Probation

The very first hearing in the process is called an Initial Appearance (if the person is in custody), or an Arraignment (if the person is out of custody. At this hearing, the person is advised of the reasons they’re probation is being revoked, and gets a copy of the petition to revoke. If the person is in custody, the court usually holds the person without bond until the end of the revocation proceedings, which can take months. However, the court could release the person depending on the circumstances. During this hearing, it is also possible to “admit” the violation, which is like pleading “guilty” to the violation. If so, the next hearing is a Disposition Hearing, which is like a sentencing hearing. If the person does not “admit” the violation, then the court will enter a “denial” of the allegations, and set the matter for a Probation Revocation Hearing.

Probation Revocation Hearing

A Probation Revocation Hearing is a hearing with the judge to determine whether a person violated his or her probation. It is not like a formal criminal trial in that there is no jury, the rules of evidence are relaxed, and the judge has to find by a preponderance of the evidence that one or more of the terms of your probation were violated. Generally, the probation officer will testify as to what the person did or didn’t do, and may submit documents as evidence. The probationer may also testify. If the court does not find a violation, the proceedings end, and the person continues on probation. If the court finds there was a violation, the matter is set for a Disposition Hearing.

Probation Disposition Hearing

This is the sentencing phase of a Probation Revocation Hearing. At this point, the judge has found that a person has violated their probation. The judge has a few options at this stage, but the most common scenarios include either being placed back on probation, possible with some additional conditions such as a period of jail time, or at the worst, being sent to prison.  If faced with a probation violation, contact Elias Damianakos, an experienced Tucson probation violation attorney.