Maryland Violation of Probation Defense Lawyer

Many of the criminal cases handled and resolved in Maryland involve some form of probation. Whether the probation follows a conviction for which time is served, or a suspended sentence followed by a period of probation, or a probation before judgment, each and every probation has attached to it a number of conditions that must be followed. All periods of probation in Maryland follow a standard set of conditions, but some probations carry with them extra “special” conditions that are either ordered by the judge or may be part of a plea arrangement.

Some of these standard conditions of probation include, but are not limited to:

• Obey All Laws- Do not commit another crime
• Report Regularly- Parole or Probation officers will set a check in schedule
• Keep current address- If you move, tell your parole or probation officer
• Drug & Alcohol Screening/Evaluation- This may be followed by a specific drug treatment program
• Abstain from all drugs and alcohol- Includes casual drinking and often times the use of cough syrup
• Pass any and all drug/alcohol tests- Often a condition of probation even for non drug charges
• Payment of fines, court costs or restitution- As ordered by the judge

Our probation monitoring service is available to clients of ours who receive probation, or clients who we did not represent for the underlying case, but need assistance guiding them through the probation process.

What Being Accused of Violating Probation Means

If you are accused of violating a term of probation, the proof that must be shown in court is different than that of most criminal offenses.

When you are accused of violating, there may be a number of possible causes of that violation, usually stemming from the conditions of probation. It is only required that the state or probation officer provide evidence that you have violated one of the conditions of probation in order to prove a violation, unlike criminal cases where all elements of the alleged crime must be proved in order to convict.

Many times a period of probation that was part of an original sentence is a trade-off in exchange for doing active jail time. If you are proven to have violated probation, you are likely to be required to serve all of the suspended or “backed up” time on the original sentence. Judges are free to impose the full sentence, or any part of it depending on the severity of the violation, and any other reason that they see fit in their sentencing evaluation.

What To Do When Accused of Violating Probation

If you are accused of violating probation in Cecil County, Baltimore, or any other part of Maryland, call our office at (410) 885-6200 to speak to an attorney experienced in representing clients in Violation of Probation hearings. Our office did not need to represent you for the original underlying charge to be able to represent you in the violating of probation hearing.