Are you or a loved one on probation in Kaufman County and facing a motion to revoke? My name is Robert Guest, I am Chief of the Criminal Defense Division at Guest and Gray Law Firm. Our firm helps Defendants who are having trouble with probation every day. Our goal is to keep you on probation and out of jail. We have a team of former Kaufman County prosecutors who have handled hundreds of cases like yours. We offer free confidential consultations for all probation cases so call today.
What’s the difference between a motion to revoke and a motion to adjudicate?There are two basic types of probation or community supervision (those terms mean the same thing) in Texas. One is deferred adjudication and the other is regular or “straight” probation. Deferred cases mean the Defendant has not been found guilty, but has been placed on probation. If you successfully complete deferred probation you are never convicted. So if a Defendant violates his deferred probation his probation then a “motion to adjudicate is filed, that means the State is asking for the Defendant to be convicted, or adjudicated (found guilty).
A motion to revoke means that the Defendant has already been found guilty of the offense and the State is asking that the Defendant be revoked, or removed from probation.
How much time in jail/prison are we looking at?If you are on deferred probation, then you could face the entire range of punishment for your offense. Let’s take State Jail felonies for an example. Those have a range of punishment of 6 months to 2 years in State Jail. If you are revoked on a deferred State Jail probation you could anywhere from 6 months to 2 years in prison, possibly.
If you are on straight probation then your maximum sentence has been set out on in the plea, or when you were sentenced. For example, in Kaufman County many DWI sentences are called “180 over 18” (180/18), which means 180 days in jail probated for 18 months. So if you are good for 18 months you get off probation, but if not they could get up to 180 days in jail.
What other sentences could I get? Can I be reinstated?Just because you are revoked does not mean we can try and get you back on probation, or that you will get the maximum sentence. There are many situations in which we get our clients back on probation. Sometimes we can do an “amend and extend” which means the Defendant agrees to additional probation condition (we “amend” the terms of probation) and we “extend” the length of probation. Often we can remedy some of the violations (past due fines, or community service hours not completed), and that makes things go smoother.
A lot depends on what the Defendant is being violated for, and how many times he has been revoked. If you get revoked once for not paying fines and a dirty UA you have a good chance of staying out of jail. But if you get violated a 2nd time, it’s much more difficult. Also a general rule if you pick up a new offense, that is, if you get arrested for a new crime while on probation, it’s much more difficult to keep you on probation.
I have a warrant for my arrest, what should I do?Probation revocation warrants in Kaufman County can have very high bonds. You should meet with us immediately so we can help plan a strategy for your case. The last thing you want to do is get stuck in jail without a lawyer and have a $25,000 MTR bond (or even worse, a “NO BOND) set than you can’t afford. We have experience with this issue and we can help.