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Houston Probation Violation Attorney I'm Attorney Jack B. Carroll. Have you been arrested? Have you been charged with a crime? When it’s all on the line, you need elite defense on your side.

Attorney Jack B. Carroll
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Motions to Adjudicate Guilt, & Pretrial Diversion

Jack B. Carroll is one of the few Probation Violation lawyers in Houston who will represent defendants who are facing probation revocation or having their community supervision revoked. Jack will provide legal representation for people facing the following types of motions to revoke;

  • Motion to Adjudicate
  • Felony Motion to Adjudicate
  • Misdemeanor Motion to Adjudicate Guilt
  • Motion to Revoke Probation
  • Felony Motion to Revoke Probation
  • Motion to Revoke Community Supervision
  • Misdemeanor Motion to Revoke Probation
  • Any form of Probation Violation

Community Supervision & Probation Violation

Houston Probation Violation LawyerMotions to adjudicate community supervision, or probation violation, are scary for defendants and Houston Probation Violation lawyers alike. On a motion to revoke probation, a judge can give you the minimum, or up to the full period of your probationary period, as incarceration in a local jail or the Texas Department of Corrections.

On motions to adjudicate, you are open to the full range of punishment.

For Example; You received deferred adjudication for indecency with a child.

The full statutory range of punishment is a 2 to 20-year sentence at the Texas Department of Corrections.

If you received 2 years probation for this crime, the most the judge can give you is 2 years in TDC. However, if you received deferred adjudication for indecency with a minor, and your deferred adjudication period is 2 years, violating the terms of your community supervision could result in a requirement to complete the 20-year sentence.

This is one of the things that makes Houston Probation Violation lawyers very nervous. The judge has the power to make a subjective determination as to the range of your punishment. For this reason, defendants and Probation Violation lawyers become nervous.

If the defense lawyer doesn’t know his way around the courthouse, the client won’t know what to expect. The lawyer may be unprepared to defend a client subject to a felony motion to revoke community supervision or probation, or a misdemeanor motion to revoke community supervision probation, or a motion to adjudicate.

About Motions to Adjudicate in Harris County

Motion to Revoke Community Supervision Probation & Pretrial Diversion

Many of these motions are filed because of technical violations.

For Example, Delinquent payments or a probationer may be short on community service hours.

An experienced Houston Probation Violation lawyer may be able to negotiate a new payment plan via an affirmative defense of “inability to pay.” (Remember Debtor’s Prison from your High School History Class?)

If a motion to revoke probation or a motion to adjudicate was filed due to a lack of community service hours, the least the defendant’s lawyer can do is to advise his client to continue community service as if the motion to revoke probation was never filed.

Case Review

I recently had a client, a young man, who was a high school senior on his way to Harvard with a partial scholarship offering. Unfortunately, he picked up a shoplifting offense.

I negotiated a plea for a pretrial diversion.

Understanding Pre-Trial Diversions

A pretrial diversion is a form of probation in which the defendant is qualified for a full dismissal of their criminal charge upon completion of the courts’ community supervision requirements, and the ability of the defendant to stay out of trouble (ie., no new law violations, or technical violations such as a dirty urinalysis which may reveal marijuana metabolites).

Unfortunately, my client tested positive for drugs 3 months into his pretrial diversion period.

An outright probation violation.

The Harris County District Attorney’s office has a zero-tolerance policy for any violation of the year-long pretrial diversion conditions. A pretrial diversion is extremely important for a couple of reasons;

  • Upon completion, your criminal case is dismissed.
  • You are also eligible for a full public record sealing via expunction as opposed to filing a motion for a certificate of non-disclosure (which only makes one eligible for sealing the public record, but not fully erasing the public record from law enforcement such as the FBI, The Texas Department of Public Safety, and the National Crime Databases such as the NCIC (National Crime Information Center), and the TCIC (Texas Crime Information Center).

To put it in simple terms, if you successfully complete your pretrial diversion with no probation violation (which is available for misdemeanors and some felonies), not even the FBI will have your criminal history.

Having the courts file a motion to revoke, or a motion to adjudicate isn’t always the end of the line.

In my experience as a criminal defense attorney, I’ve seen lawyers advise clients of theirs, who are facing a motion to revoke probation, to do nothing more (to help their case) than beg the judge to be merciful.

Before they knew what was what, they were on their way to jail.

By having a knowledgeable Probation Violation attorney explain to the client how to take the ball and run with it, will sometimes show the court that the probationer is taking the motion, and the court, seriously. This might enable the Harris County probation violation defense lawyer to persuade the court to be merciful and, perhaps, reinstate the probation.

I’ve had cases where motions to adjudicate guilt, filed on Houston sex offender probationers living in Harris County, were thrown out because I was able to convince the court that “jail therapy” for a few weeks would be better than prison for many years. This is a favorable result in light of a probation violation.

The defendant’s criminal defense attorney needs to know how the Harris County Criminal Courts work in order to be best prepared to handle a probation violation. The attorney needs to know the judges, and court staff, to be best prepared to represent a citizen that’s facing a motion to revoke.

There are a few dozen misdemeanors and felony courts in Houston (Harris County). Some of these courts encourage probationers to cop a plea on the first setting or risk a harsher sentence if he sets it for a Motion to Revoke Probation or a Motion to Adjudicate hearing.

I know the courts and judges in Houston well.

If a Motion to Adjudicate, or a Motion to Revoke Probation is filed, or you know that your probation officer is going to file, call me at 713-228-4607, or another Houston defense attorney as soon as possible. All Harris County probationers on deferred adjudication are eligible for a bond, and some on straight probation as well.

Jack B. Carroll; Houston probation violation lawyer

I can determine the best and quickest way to keep you from going to jail or to get you out of jail.

I’ve worked exclusively with a couple of bonding companies for over twenty years, and I know they will immediately do what needs to be done. The consequences of a Motion to Adjudicate or Motion to Revoke Probation (Motion to Revoke Community Supervision) can be severe so call me as soon as possible so I can explore legal strategies to defend you against the alleged probation violation.

I will confer with the Harris County probation officer, the Harris County criminal prosecutor, and the judge, as soon as possible. I have learned from experience that the earlier I’m contacted, the better your chances are to maintain my freedom.

Even if you think your case is hopeless, I can help you. Call me; a Board Certified® Houston, TX criminal defense attorney at 713-228-4607.

Houston Probation Violation Attorney

Jack B. Carroll & Associates