![]() In California, there are two types of probation – summary, or informal, and felony, or formal. Upon successful completion of the terms of the probation order, the convicted individual will then return to court, at which time the judge will dismiss the individual’s plea of guilty, or set aside the jury’s verdict. Thus, although California law authorizes the judge to sentence a convicted individual to the maximum prescribed penalty for the crime for which he/she was convicted, the judge also has the authority to suspend a prison or jail sentence for a misdemeanor or a felony, and grant probation instead.Įssentially, probation is a rehabilitation-based program that gives the convicted individual the opportunity to complete his/her sentence within his/her community under what is typically referred to as a conditional release. If an individual is convicted of a crime in California, whether due to a plea of guilty or a verdict from a jury, the judge has a great deal of discretion in deciding the individual’s sentence, including ordering probation. Recently, a former Diablo Valley College philosophy professor, who was charged with four counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon, causing great bodily injury, in an attack at a Berkeley protest last year, accepted a deal for three years of probation.Ī discussion of California’s probation system, generally, and how it can be used to the benefit of those charged with a crime under California’s new bail system, will follow below. Retaining the services of an experienced criminal defense attorney, and especially one well-versed in the details of California’s probation system, can be instrumental in reducing the penalty for a criminal conviction from a prison or jail sentence to probation. ![]() In some instances, the criminal justice system does provide certain suspects with an alternative if convicted – probation. ![]() Once the initial shock of the arrest and arraignment settles, the suspect must now come to terms with the possibility that he/she could face time in prison. Being charged with a crime can be a harrowing experience.
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