Avoiding jail time for a criminal conviction is a top priority for any person facing charges, and receiving probation can be a great relief. However, you should not make the mistake of thinking that you are out of the woods if you are sentenced to probation in lieu of incarceration.
While you may not be behind bars on probation, you are still required to comply with strict court orders regarding what you can and cannot do. For instance, you might be required to take drug tests, stay employed, and you could be prohibited from associating with certain people. Should you violate any condition of probation, you could wind up in serious trouble.
Recently, for example, a teenage rapper from Florida was arrested after he allegedly attended a boxing match and strip club, which is a violation of the house arrest order in place. He also has not completed an anger management program, which was also a condition of his release.
He is now facing penalties for the probation violations, and could have penalties for his original offenses reinstated.
What we hope readers take away from this story is the reminder that law enforcement officials take probation violations seriously and Florida courts are very strict with probation orders. If you violate these orders — or even if you are just accused of violating them — you can wind up back in court facing penalties for probation violation, in addition to penalties for your original offense.
If you are accused of violating probation, then it can be critical that you consult an attorney as soon as possible. Whether you meant to violate probation or not, and even if you do not think you’ve committed a violation in the first place, you need to protect your rights and defend yourself.
