Yes, You Can End Probation Early — Here’s How
Our firm gets calls frequently about terminating probation early. Common reasons for the request are wanting to start the clock to seal or expunge your record sooner, resorting gun rights, and being able to travel out of state freely. It is absolutely something that you can accomplish and our criminal defense attorneys recommend putting your best foot forward before you make the request. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Complete all probation requirements first.
Often times a Court orders certain terms of your probation. For example, you might be ordered to complete a Driver Intervention Program if you have been convicted of an OVI offense. If you have been sentenced to a theft related offense, you are likely ordered to pay restitution as part of the terms of your probation. Whatever the terms are, you want to make sure that you have completed them before requesting that your probation be terminated early.
Be strategic on when you ask for probation to be terminated.
You should consider the length of your probation term when deciding when you ask the court to terminate your probation. If you were sentenced to a two (2) year term and you want to make the request after only serving four (4) months of your probation, there’s a good chance you may face some opposition by the court, probation department, and maybe even the prosecutor.
Likewise, if you’ve had some hiccups while on probation, you may want to wait until some time has passed to address early termination with the court. The best candidates for early termination have not had any recent probation violations, have been submitting negative screens for alcohol and drugs, and have been attending probation appointments as scheduled. This may seem really obvious, but having any new cases while on probation will certainly hurt your chances of an early termination.
Hire a criminal defense attorney to file a motion to terminate early.
In the vast majority of cases, probation will not be terminated early without a written motion. Hiring an attorney to prepare and file the motion is worth every penny. First, a criminal defense attorney will be able to include everything that they believe will put you in the best position to get the request granted. Additionally, an attorney can meet with the Judge and prosecutor either before or after the motion is filed to see if there will be any opposition or if there is anything that our client can do to increase the likelihood of the motion being granted. Lastly, hiring a criminal defense attorney takes the pressure off of you to navigate drafting the motion, filing the motion, and getting a hearing set with the court. Trust us, it’s worth it.
If you think you’re a good candidate to have your probation terminated early, call, text, or email us so that we can evaluate your chances of success. Let us help you get your freedom back!
