Probabtion Violation Anoka County Case Study
Charges: Probation Violation
In December of 2014 my client was convicted of a Gross Misdemeanor DUI. The DUI conviction triggered a probation violation from a previous sentence in the City of Coon Rapids in Anoka County.
Facts
Client was stopped by police after the police for speeding and driving without a valid license. He was tested and his breath test was .21. He was ultimately convicted of a 3rd Degree DUI which triggered a probation violation from an earlier alcohol related offense. He also had another probation violation for failure to complete an alcohol related program. By getting convicted and failure to do the alcohol related program he allegedly violated the terms and conditions of his probation in Anoka County where he had been convicted of a gross misdemeanor DUI and misdemeanor careless driving offense. He had 335 days of jail suspended as a result of the first conviction and 90 days of jail stayed as a result of the second conviction.
Case Review
After reviewing all of the reports in all of the cases and discussing the case fully with my Client it was determined that he was indeed speeding with a revoked license due to the previous alcohol offense and he had failed to complete his alcohol education program. Unfortunately alcohol was present in the new arrest and conviction for Gross Misdemeanor DUI. I thoroughly explained how important getting his license reinstated and getting on interlock was to his situation and his future.
Our goal was to minimize jail and fines. I instructed him to do everything possible to get his license back and get interlock installed in his vehicle. I explained that he had a year in jail plus 90 days as potential exposure. To his credit my client took this advice seriously and worked diligently towards reinstating his license, applying for special series plates, completing the alcohol program and getting interlock installed. These steps did not excuse or provide a defense for the probation violation, but it showed good faith to probation that he was taking this seriously and wanted to maintain his freedom, employment and license.
Resolution
After diligent review of his driving record and some background research I was able to negotiate a successful resolution. I was able to get the probation violation dismissed upon his successful completion of the alcohol program and I was able to secure no jail time and a reasonable fine for violating the terms of his probation (getting a new DUI). By instructing and encouraging my client to go through the arduous steps required to reinstate his driver’s license and get on interlock and completing the alcohol program garnered the good faith needed to persuade probation and the court to agree to an agreement where we achieved our goals.
By paying forward and working hard in advance of our court dates allowed for amazing results. We were able to sculpt a resolution to satisfy the concerns of probation, the prosecution and judge while allowing my client to maintain his freedom and not serve jail time. This was a very successful outcome because he had two separate probation violations yet we were able to avoid any jail time which was our ultimate goal however unlikely that seemed at the outset.
Impact
My client was very happy, thankful and relieved to not be sentenced to jail time. It is important to get to know why your client is being brought up on a probation violation(s) to work hard in advance in an attempt to get the probation violation dismissed or to lessen the consequences. The prosecution, probation and court are oftentimes willing to be creative when a client shows good faith and has taken positive steps to show that they have made great strides to remedy their dilemma.
Caveat
Most clients don’t realize that by pleading to a driving under the influence (DUI), driving after revocation, driving after suspension, driving after cancellation or no insurance or no proof of insurance offense or not remaining law abiding may trigger a probation violation in a previous case even if it is in a different county. The length of time stayed or suspended in the previous case is then active and may have to be served as a consequence for the probation violation. Simply paying a citation is just like pleading guilty to the charge or charges and the conviction will have the effect of revoking your license with the Department of Public Safety or violating the terms and conditions of your probation. Clients oftentimes don’t realize that by paying the citation or pleading to an offense it can trigger a probation violation in another case in the same or different county.
It is imperative to contact an attorney immediately upon getting charged with a criminal offense because it could lead to a more serious issue of a probation violation from a previous case.
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