Utah Probation Violation

When you’re granted probation, it’s conditional. Sometimes your probation is supervised, and sometimes it’s not. But one thing’s for sure: if you violate the conditions of your probation, the consequences can be dire. Probation violation allegations can run the gamut, ranging from failing a drug test to skipping a meeting with your probation officer to failing to pay court costs or fines. But the most common probation violation charge is committing a misdemeanor or felony while on probation.

If you’re found to have violated the terms of your probation, that probation can be revoked or modified. That could mean jail time. If you’re on felony probation and are picked up on a bench warrant for probation violation, you will stay in jail until your case is heard. That’s why it’s imperative that you rely on a Utah probation violation attorney to represent you.

Beating Utah Probation Violation Charges

The standards for proving a probation violation are lower than for a criminal conviction. Rather than proving the violation beyond a reasonable doubt, the court or prosecutor just has to prove that there’s a preponderance of evidence that you violated probation.

There are several strategies that can be used to defend against probation violation charges in Utah. Weber Law may employ one or more of these strategies in order to achieve the goal of having the charges dropped or the penalty reduced:

• Claiming that the violation was unintentional
• Arguing that you would be better served by community service
• Describing the circumstances that led to the violation
• Calling witnesses who can attest to relevant evidence
• Asserting that the probation officer hasn’t meet the standard of proof