Facing a Probation Violation in the Inland Empire?

If police or your probation officer arrest you, you are booked and held until you see a judge. If you stay in custody, you must be brought to court for arraignment, usually within 48 hours, not counting Sundays and holidays. If you get a notice to appear instead, go to court on that date, or the judge can issue a warrant.

At the first hearing, the judge often summarily revokes probation, which pauses your probation term, and you can admit or deny the violation. Until the formal hearing, the law generally favors release on your own recognizance, especially on misdemeanor probation (PC 1203.25). The sooner we’re involved, the sooner we can start working on your case.

Breaking any term of your probation can be a violation (PC 1203.2). Common examples are a new arrest, a missed check-in with your probation officer, a failed or missed drug or alcohol test, not finishing a required class or program, missing a court date, contact that a protective order prohibits, and falling behind on payments.

A new arrest can be treated as a violation even if the new case is never filed or is later dismissed, because the judge decides the violation separately and under a lower standard. Generally, the violation must also be willful, meaning you could have complied and didn’t.

A judge decides it; there is no jury. The prosecutor only has to prove the violation by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not, which is much lower than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

You still have important rights: written notice of what you are accused of, a lawyer, a chance to see the evidence, to testify and to present witnesses and documents, and, in most cases, to question the witnesses against you. Some written reports can be used if they are reliable. Many cases are resolved without a contested hearing, through an agreement on how probation will continue.

The process is similar, but the stakes are higher. If felony probation is revoked, the judge can sentence you to the term the original felony allows, which may mean state prison or county jail.

Mandatory supervision, the supervised part of a county jail sentence under PC 1170(h), is revoked the same way as probation, and a violation can mean serving the rest of that sentence in custody. If you signed a flash incarceration waiver when you were placed on probation or supervision, probation can book you into county jail for 1 to 10 days for a violation without a court hearing (PC 1203.35). You can refuse, and probation can then take the violation to the judge instead.

Yes, but it is not automatic. If the judge finds a violation, the options include reinstating probation on the same terms; modifying it with new terms, such as jail time, classes or treatment; extending it, within the limits the law allows; or revoking it and sentencing you.

If probation is revoked, the judge can impose any sentence the original offense allowed, up to the maximum, with credit for time already served (PC 1203.2(c)). If you already received a suspended sentence and probation is revoked, that sentence generally goes into effect. The outcome depends on the violation, how you have done on probation, the original case and how the violation is handled from the start.

Since January 1, 2021, most misdemeanor probation is limited to one year (PC 1203a) and most felony probation to two years (PC 1203.1). These limits came from Assembly Bill 1950.

There are exceptions. Violent felonies and offenses with their own probation lengths can carry longer terms, such as DUI, which carries three to five years when probation is granted, and domestic violence, which requires at least three years. Some felony theft and embezzlement cases over $25,000 allow up to three years. A violation can also pause the probation term while it is being decided, so the case can continue past the date your probation would have ended.

That can matter a great deal. Probation can’t be revoked just because you didn’t pay restitution, fines or fees unless the judge finds you were able to pay and willfully didn’t (PC 1203.2(a)).

More generally, courts have held that a violation should be willful. A missed appointment caused by a hospital stay, a ride that fell through, being held in custody somewhere else, or another problem outside your control may not justify revoking probation. Proof matters, so keep records of medical visits, work schedules, program attendance and payment attempts, and bring them to us.

Be careful. You generally must report as directed and follow your probation officer’s instructions, but anything you say about the alleged violation can be used to prove it. If the violation is a new arrest, politely decline to answer police questions and ask for a lawyer.

Don’t contact the alleged victim or witnesses, and don’t discuss the case by text, email, social media or jail phone calls. All of it can be recorded and used. If you testify at the violation hearing, California law limits how prosecutors can use that testimony in a related new case, but the protection has limits, so talk to us first.

It depends on the evidence and the term you are accused of violating. Common defenses include:

• The violation was not willful, such as a missed appointment caused by illness or another problem you couldn’t control
• You were never clearly told about the term, or the term was too vague to follow
• You were unable to pay, which bars revocation for nonpayment alone
• The new arrest is based on weak, mistaken or false accusations
• The evidence is unreliable, such as a faulty test or an unsupported report
• Your probation term had already ended before the alleged violation

We review the probation file, test results, program and payment records, and any new police report to find the weaknesses in the case.

In some cases, yes. The judge can end probation early when your good conduct and progress justify it, after notice to the prosecutor (PC 1203.3). Ending probation early can also let you seek an expungement sooner.

Once probation ends, you may be able to have the conviction dismissed under PC 1203.4. If you violated probation, dismissal is not automatic, but the judge can still grant it in the interest of justice. Some felonies can also be reduced to misdemeanors (PC 17(b)). For non-citizens, admitting a violation or receiving a new sentence can carry immigration consequences, so talk to us before you admit anything.