Parole Violation

Parole Violation – What You Need to Know

So your loved one is on parole and you just found out they violated. Now what? As a family member or friend, this can be really stressful and confusing. Let’s break it down and walk through what parole violation is, how it works, and what the consequences can be.

First, what exactly is parole? Parole is when someone is released from prison to serve the remainder of their sentence in the community, under supervision of a parole officer. There are usually a bunch of rules and conditions they have to follow, like checking in regularly, drug testing, curfew, etc. Violating any of those conditions is a parole violation.

Some common parole violations include:

• Missing a meeting with their parole officer
• Failing a drug test
• Getting arrested for a new crime
• Leaving the state without permission
• Having contact with other felons

So if someone on parole does any of those things, their parole can be revoked and they can be sent back to prison.

How Does the Parole Violation Process Work?

If the parole officer believes their parolee violated, they will report it to the state parole board. The board can issue a warrant for their arrest. Police will arrest them on the parole warrant and take them to county jail to await the revocation hearing.

At the hearing, the parole board looks at evidence of the violation. The parolee can tell their side of the story. The board will decide whether to revoke parole. If revoked, the parolee goes back to prison to serve some or all of their remaining sentence.

It dosen’t have to be a new criminal charge to violate parole. Even minor infractions of the rules can lead to revocation. The parole board has a lot of discretion.

Common Defenses Against Parole Violation

There are a few main defenses a parolee can use to fight revocation:

Not Enough Evidence

If the evidence of a violation is weak, a good defense attorney can argue there is reasonable doubt. For example, if a drug test comes back positive, but there is reason to believe it was a false positive or the sample was mixed up.

Mitigating Circumstances

There may be explanations or extenuating circumstances for the violation. Like missing a meeting because of a family emergency or medical issue. A skilled lawyer can argue these should be taken into account.

Rehabilitation Instead of Revocation

An attorney may argue that better rehabilitation options exist besides sending the parolee back to prison. Things like increased drug treatment, counseling, electronic monitoring, etc. This is especially effective for minor violations.

Procedural Issues

If there were problems with due process or procedures not being followed, that could be grounds to dismiss the violation. Like not getting written notice of the hearing date.

What Happens if Parole is Revoked?

If parole is revoked, the parolee is sent back to prison. How much of their remaining sentence they have to serve depends on the rules in that state. Sometimes revocation means they have to serve the entire remainder of their original sentence. Other times it may be just a portion.

They may or may not get credit for the time they spent out on parole without violations. In some states that time counts towards their sentence, in others it does not.

After being sent back to prison on a parole violation, they may have the chance to apply for parole again in the future. Timing varies by state.