There are five possible outcomes if a person in California violates the terms of misdemeanor probation. The judge can:
Prior to revoking probation, a judge must order a probation revocation hearing. This is a court proceeding that gives the defendant the chance to explain his/her probation violation.
Almost anyone convicted of a misdemeanor offense can request summary probation. Typically, though, it is awarded to:
Note that judges have wide discretion in drafting the specific terms and conditions of an offender’s probation. These terms and conditions will also depend on the specific offense committed.
Sometimes, though, some conditions are required by law. For example, defendants convicted of a domestic violence crime must complete a batterer’s program of treatment.
Note also that there are two types of probation under California law. These are:
While a judge may award the former in cases involving misdemeanor criminal charges, a judge may award the latter in felony cases.
Our California criminal defense attorneys will highlight the following in this article:
In some cases, judges punish defendants who violate their probation with jail.
There are five possible outcomes if a probationer violates the terms and conditions of his/her misdemeanor probation. These include a judge:
As to the first outcome, note that there are times when, upon sentencing a defendant, a judge orders a sentence term, but then suspends it and orders probation in lieu of jail time. If a probation violation occurs in this scenario, the judge can then sentence the probationer to the original jail term that was suspended.
As to the second outcome, note there are times during sentencing that a judge simply awards probation (without suspending any jail time). If a probation violation then occurs, the judge has the option of revoking probation and sentencing the probationer to the maximum sentence allowed under the law.
A probation revocation hearing is a court proceeding that must take place prior to a judge revoking probation. The hearing is held so that the defendant can explain why he/she violated his/her probation. 2
This hearing is sometimes referred to as a “probation violation hearing.”
At the end of the hearing, the judge will decide whether to:
Almost anyone that receives a misdemeanor conviction can request summary probation in California. 3
The purpose of probation is to:
Courts typically give summary probation to first-time and juvenile offenders. But even people with prior convictions may be eligible to receive it.
A common condition of probation is random drug testing.
Judges have a great deal of discretion in crafting probation terms and conditions. This is provided that they are:
Some common conditions of summary probation can include that the defendant:
Note that in some cases specific probation conditions are required by the laws of the State of California. For example, people convicted of certain crimes of domestic violence must complete a batterer’s program of treatment.
There are two types of probation under California law. These are:
Misdemeanor probation is awarded in cases involving a misdemeanor conviction. Felony probation is awarded in cases of felony convictions.
There are other differences between these two forms of probation. For example, in most misdemeanor cases the judge does not request a “probation report” from the county probation department. An exception is misdemeanor cases involving sex crimes. 8
Further, with misdemeanor probation, there is no “misdemeanor probation officer.” Instead, probationers go back to court every now and then to report to a judge on their progress.
