Legal Question in Criminal Law in Georgia

Probation violation

Ok so maybe I just don't get it. What happens if the person that is held in jail is actually INNOCENT? You get picked up by the police sent to jail, held in jail for 2 /2 months before you even get your hearing. Now I am sure that everyone in Jail is innocent but what if you actually are? That's 2 1/2 months of your life in jail for nothing. Also your probation officer says he will ask for the minimum sentence for probation violation which is 3 months. But hold on to your horses. What if they are innocent to begin with? There are witnesses biting at the bit to tell everyone that you are innocent. Someone please enlighten me.

And what actually happens at the probation violation hearing?


Asked on 12/16/04, 3:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jim Hough Thomas J. Hough, Jr., P.C.

Re: Probation violation

There is a great paradox as it relates to probation violations. The standard of proof is less than the standard of proof required to prove a crime in the first place. Therefore, you can be arrested on an arrest of probation warrant for allegedly having committed a new crime. At the hearing on your probation violation hearing, you can be found to have viloated the probation by a preponderance of evidence, remain in jail and then be found not guilty at the trial of the new charges. Intrigued? You need to speak with an attorney before assuming that the witnesses biting at the bit to tell the truth are going to set you free. They might but its not a slam dunk.

Jim Hough

770-607-5300

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Answered on 12/20/04, 5:38 pm


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