RJ Ferraro has been resolving Violation of Probation cases since 2001!
If you are currently on probation in Martin County or on the Treasure Coast, watch out! While no time is a good time to violate your probation, the fact is, if you violate now, it is very likely you will miss the holidays with your family. I can assure you that there is no harder question to live with than “Why isn’t daddy here?” on Christmas morning.
The fact is that most violation of probation warrants are signed without assigning a bond. You are not entitled to a bond on a VOP like you are on a regular criminal case. And it is very rare for the judge conducting the hearing for First Appearance to grant a bond on another judge’s VOP warrant. If you hire a lawyer quickly, you may be able to get before your judge before Christmas, but there is still no guarantee that he or she will grant you a bond either. In fact, if the violation is for getting arrested on a new criminal charge while on probation, you have very little chance of obtaining a bond. On the other hand, if the VOP is for failure to pay money on time, or to complete a class, sometimes you can obtain a bond to try to pay the money owed or complete the class before appearing for your Final Hearing on the VOP. Anything you can do to mitigate the damage (get your conditions completed), the better off you will be.
Still, if you do violate, all is not necessarily lost. If you hire the Ferraro Law Group quickly, we can often get you a court appearance much faster than your regularly scheduled Arraignment which usually occurs about one month after the arrest. While we can not always get a bond, often we can resolve the whole case at that time. Depending on the reason for the VOP, many times you can get reinstated on probation fairly quickly, and released from custody. Other times, you cannot; and you will be in it for the long haul. Still, hiring a lawyer quickly can do much to improve your final resolution, as opposed to sitting and waiting for the State Attorney to make you an offer to resolve your case.
The best thing you can do is to understand your Probation Order, inside and out. Do not do anything that is not allowed. If you have questions, the best person to ask is your probation officer, as he will be the person to decide whether or not a specific behavior requires notifying the judge and requesting a warrant. Do not think that your probation officer has the discretion to violate you. They really do not. If you break a condition, they have to do it. They will answer your questions when you have them, but they cannot look the other way when you deviate.
Still, things happen. And when they do, we are here. If you or a loved one is currently incarcerated for violation of probation, contact the Ferraro Law Group today, and put our experience to work for you!