Probation Attorney
Challenge probation holds and revocation today:
Unfortunately, at least half of persons placed on probation will face a hold, investigation, or possible revocation at some point during their term of supervision. Revocation proceedings can have immediate and immense negative effects on a client’s family, job, and liberty. A probation agent can simply place a “hold” on a person, which will land them in jail pending a formal investigation. This can take days, sometimes weeks.
If the Department of Corrections elects to seek revocation, then the timeline stretches out into months. Here is why you should choose an experienced and successful probation revocation attorney, like RACINE DEFENSE:
1. You have a right to a formal revocation hearing.
Don’t let a probation agent bully your family member or friend into “waiving” his or her revocation hearing. I regularly hear my clients tell me that agents try pressuring them into a formal hearing, usually by claiming that the client has no chance of succeeding at the revocation hearing. What agents never understand, however, is that the hearing is vital to defending against the claims made against the client. Speak to a probation revocation attorney before deciding whether to waive or proceed with a formal revocation hearing before the Division of Hearings and Appeals.
2. I can question witnesses at the revocation hearing.
Usually, a probation revocation proceeding comes with a fresh set of criminal charges that mirror the allegations made by the client’s agent. The revocation proceedings provide an opportunity to obtain the discovery before the prosecutor usually has it. The revocation proceedings also provide an opportunity to question officers or witnesses without the stricter rules of evidence. Lastly, the revocation hearing can be used as leverage to resolve the fresh charges. Taken together, the revocation hearing almost becomes a “practice run” in defending allegations.
3. I can argue against revocation even if a client violates the rules of supervision.
Sometimes “winning” a probation revocation hearing means something besides successfully keeping a client on supervision. Sometimes a win, as stated above, is learning as much as possible about new, more serious charges to better defend against them. Sometimes winning a revocation is about minimizing the amount of time a client returns to jail or prison. And sometimes, winning a revocation means admitting to some of the allegations, defending against others, and arguing that a client should remain on supervision despite the violations to his or her rules of supervision.
What your agent probably doesn’t tell you is this: revocation is not automatic if you violate a rule. The violation is only step one. The Division of Hearings and Appeals must also decide whether revocation is necessary to (1) control the offender, (2) provide correction to the offender, or (3) to hold the offender accountable. As a top probation revocation attorney, I have successfully kept clients on supervision by arguing that despite violations, the client should remain on probation.
Attorney Dimmer is one of very few probation revocation attorneys who has successfully argued that his clients should remain on probation despite being sex offenders and repeat drug offenders. I have a strong track record of battling the Department of Corrections at contested revocation hearings.
4. I can help persuade an agent to offer an alternative to revocation (or "ATR") or lift the probation hold.
Although agents quickly place holds on probationers for alleged rules violations, with the assistance of counsel, the matter can be addressed faster than if a client is unrepresented. As a probation revocation attorney, I have experience acting as a go-between for my client and the Department of Corrections.
As an experienced probation revocation attorney, I can also educate the agent about possible alternatives to revocation, additional facts, and information that may sway the agent’s decision on how to proceed. A client may be required to give a statement to an agent before the investigation is complete, but I work with my clients to help them be clear and focused in their statements.
Lastly, I have a professional relationship with the Department of Corrections that brings my clients good results. The Department knows that if they do not offer my clients an alternative to revocation, they will be having a revocation hearing—because I am an aggressive defense attorney and an aggressive probation revocation attorney.