Probation Violations Lawyer
Being on probation means that you’ve been convicted of a criminal offense and now must comply with specific guidelines. Failure to comply with the guidelines allows the State to arrest you with violation of your probation. If you find yourself in this situation, our criminal defense team lead by E. Logan Butler with begin preparing your case to minimize any jailtime and accompanying fines or penalties.
The most common probation violations are failing drug or alcohol tests, failure to pay fines or restitution, failure to meet with your probation officer or to appear at a court-ordered probation hearing and failure to maintain employment. More severe probation violations include being arrested for a new offense.
Probation violation cases are far easier for the State to prove compared to the original criminal case. In a standard criminal case, the State must prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that you committed a crime. In probation violation cases, the standard is simply a “preponderance of the evidence”.
After being arrested on a warrant for probation violation, it is extremely rare to be granted bond. In most cases, you must sit in jail until your case can be tried which can take up to 30 days. If possible, we will attempt to negotiate with the State to allow you to get out of jail earlier.
Probation hearings for clients in Cumming will take place at the Forsyth County courthouse and probation hearings for clients Dawsonville will occur at the Dawson County courthouse.