What is Unsupervised Probation?
Posted on September 24th, 2017 by Oddo & Babat, P.C.
What is Unsupervised Probation?
In the event that somebody who has been convicted of a crime does not have a number of offenses on their criminal record, they may be considered eligible for unsupervised probation. Those who have been convicted of relatively minor offenses may also be considered eligible for unsupervised probation. Unsupervised provision is the least serious, aside from a suspended sentence or a dismissal of criminal charges.
Historical Establishment
The very first state to utilize probation as a mitigated punishment model was Boston in the mid-19th century. That was followed with Massachusetts establishing a statewide probation system near the end of the century. Every state in the union officially established a probation system by the year 1951 and utilized it in at least one criminal case.
Terms and Requirements
In order for the court to consider an unsupervised probationary period successful, the individual needs to satisfy all counseling and educational requirements. Though the probation is unsupervised, the individual must satisfy any penalties that the court imposed in response to guilty party’s crime.
Oftentimes, one of the primary responsibilities that an individual on unsupervised probation must fulfill is some form of community service. As the probationary period does not require active supervision, it will be the responsibility of the individual to make sure that they complete the community service that the court imposed on them.
Periodic Oversight
An individual fulfilling an unsupervised probationary term won’t be actively monitored on a 24/7 basis. However, they may be required to occasionally meet with a probation officer for oversight purposes. This is to ensure that they are meeting the requirements of their sentence in terms of community service and full legal compliance.
Provided that an individual who is granted unsupervised probation successfully follows through with all the terms of their arrangement, it is possible that they will not have to interact with the probation officer or court on a regular basis.
Potential Infractions and Revocation
In the event that an individual on unsupervised probation is found guilty of a new crime or fails to follow through on the conditions of their arrangement, they might have their probationary period revoked and replaced with imprisonment. However, the approach that the court takes toward unsupervised probation revocation tends to be graduated, as a criminal defense lawyer Fairfax VA relies on can explain.
- The very first infraction may not necessitate having the unsupervised probation completely revoked.
- If the offenses are consistent or severe enough, the court may determine that the offender is too much of a risk to allow outside of the penitentiary until their sentence has been served.
- For any infractions that are not severe enough to mandate imprisonment, the unsupervised probation may be converted to a more heavily supervised probation.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Albo & Oblon, L.L.P. for their insight into unsupervised probation and criminal defense cases.
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