Serving a probation sentence is certainly less emotionally painful than serving a prison sentence, and it is much less burdensome for the defendant and taxpayers. If you think that a probation sentence means that you are walking away from criminal court with just a slap on the wrist, though, think again. Being on probation is expensive and time-consuming, even though you get to live in your own home, work at your job and collect your paycheck, and eat your favorite foods. Worst of all, as long as you are on probation, law enforcement is watching you like a hawk, and you are always at risk of facing new criminal charges, whether for a new offense or for violating the terms of your probation. In other words, you can go to prison for doing things that are legal for everyone except you. Getting through your probation sentence without any violations is an admirable goal, but if you can persuade the court to terminate your probation early, even better. If you have been placed on probation or are facing charges for which probation is a possible penalty, a New Jersey criminal process lawyer can help you navigate the probation system and possibly terminate your probation early.
How Does New Jersey’s Probation System Work?
Probation is a possible consequence of many different violations of the law. If you get convicted of an indictable offense (known as a felony in states other than New Jersey), the court might place you on probation instead of or in addition to a prison sentence. If you get convicted of a disorderly persons offense (known as a misdemeanor in other states), probation is also a possibility, instead of or in addition to serving time in the county jail. New Jersey law considers drunk driving (DWI) a traffic violation rather than a crime, but if a traffic court convicts you of DUI, the penalties can include probation in addition to driver’s license suspension and numerous fines.
The judge sets the terms of each defendant’s probation individually. You must meet with your probation officer regularly to ensure that you comply with the terms of your probation. It goes without saying that, as a condition of your probation, you must avoid breaking any laws. The judge can also set other requirements that aim to prevent situations like the one that read to your original arrest and conviction. For example, the court might order you not to drink alcohol or to attend substance abuse treatment. It might order you to live with your parents or to stay away from the friend who was with you at the time of your arrest. It might also set conditions about the types of jobs that you should seek or order you not to quit your current job if you are currently employed. For Internet crimes such as wire fraud, online purchase of illegal drugs, or possession of exploitative child content, the court might even restrict your access to the Internet.
How to Terminate Your Probation Early
There is a growing trend among
prosecutors, judges, and the public that keeping defendants on probation for long periods of time does more harm than good. In the old days, it was not so strange to find defendants who had been on probation for more than a decade because of a minor crime like petty theft because the judge kept extending the probation every time the probationer made a mistake, such as arriving late to a probation appointment. In recent years, New Jersey and other states have made it easier for the courts to terminate defendants’ probation sooner than the date listed in the original sentence.
In New Jersey, you can be eligible to terminate your probation early if you have served at least half of the probation time indicated in your sentence. For example, if the court sentenced you to two years of probation, you can become eligible to terminate your probation early after completing one year of your probation sentence, provided that, during this time, you have complied with all the conditions of your probation. Additionally, before you apply to terminate your probation, you must ensure that you have completed all the other terms of your sentence. For example, you must have paid all court-ordered fines, and if the court ordered you to take anger management classes, perform community service, or complete a certain number of days of inpatient treatment for substance use disorder, you must have fulfilled those requirements, too.
Once you are sure that you have completed all the requirements and that enough time has gone by since your sentencing, you are ready to start the process of terminating your probation early. The first step is to draft a petition for early termination of probation and file this document with the court in the county where your sentence was issued. In your petition, you must indicate the conditions of your sentence which you have fulfilled. Your probation officer must also indicate support for your request to terminate your probation ahead of schedule. After the court reviews your petition, it will schedule a hearing. At the hearing, you or your lawyer can say why you think you deserve to end your probation early. If the court agrees with your arguments, the judge will terminate your probation either immediately upon conclusion of the hearing or at some future date that is after the hearing but before the original end date for your probation sentence.
In some cases, it is the probation officer who first makes the recommendation to terminate the defendant’s probation sentence early. Whether the original impetus to end your probation early came from you or your probation officer, you have the right to have a lawyer represent you in your efforts to terminate your probation, but you also have the right to represent yourself if this is what you choose. Unlike when you are facing charges in criminal court, it is your responsibility to pay your lawyer for their services. The court does not appoint lawyers from the Public Defender’s office to represent petitioners in early termination of probation cases.
Pretrial Intervention and Early Termination of Probation
If you get charged with a crime and do not have a prior criminal history, the court may give you the option to participate in a pretrial intervention program. This requires you to agree to comply with the terms of the pretrial intervention, which are similar to the sentence you might have faced if you had pleaded guilty to the offense. For example, if the charges are for theft or vandalism, your pretrial intervention might involve probation and community service, but if they are for drug possession, the pretrial intervention might involve substance abuse treatment and probation. Once you complete the pretrial intervention program, the court will drop the charges against you. This means that an arrest record becomes part of your criminal history, but a conviction record does not.
If you have completed at least half of the probation in addition to all of the non-probation requirements, you are eligible to petition the court to end your probation early. The process for early termination of probation during a pretrial intervention program is the same as it is for defendants who are on probation pursuant to a sentence handed down after a conviction. In other words, you must first file a petition for early termination of probation, and you must have the consent of your probation officer. Likewise, early termination does not go into effect until a judge approves it during a hearing.
How Does Early Termination of Probation Affect the Expungement Process?
If patience and obeying the law come naturally to you, then what is the harm in simply serving the rest of your probation sentence and having the court declare your debt to society paid off at the end of two years instead of one or 36 months instead of 18? There is no harm in doing this, but the sooner your probation ends, the sooner you will become eligible to expunge the record of your criminal case. Expungement is an especially attractive option if your only run-in with the criminal justice system resulted in pretrial diversion. The purpose of pretrial diversion is to enable you to put the arrest behind you and put you in a good position to lead a law-abiding life, and expunging the arrest record certainly serves this purpose.
Contact A Lawyer for Help Terminating Your Probation
A criminal defense lawyer can help you avoid getting your probation extended and may even be able to help you end your probation ahead of schedule. Contact the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall to discuss your case.
