Attorney Albaugh Successfully Defends a Client Facing a Technical Violation of Probation After Positive Drug Test
Allegation: Technical Violation of Probation (Dirty Urine Test)
Result: Modification of Probation to Client Could Relocate back to Home State
Date: June 25, 2014
Jurisdiction: St. Johns County
In State of Florida v. D.T., the defendant pled guilty to sale of marijuana while represented by a Public Defender. His probation required him to be on Community Control (house arrest) for a period of 2 years.
The problem this created was that D.T. was prevented from transferring his probation back to his home state because of the Community Control provision. D.T., who was not from Florida, was struggling financially, bouncing from home to home and unable to find steady employment. He also found himself associating with people who were using drugs and causing him to relapse and jeopardize his probation.
In May, D.T. tested positive for drug use and was about to have his probation violated. Fearful that he may get a lengthy jail or prison sentence if he was caught in violation of probation, D.T. called the Albaugh Law Firm to find out what options were available to him.
Ryan Albaugh listened to D.T. describe his situation and desire to return to his home state. Mr. Albaugh also spoke to D.T.’s mother who was willing to come testify at any future hearings. Mr. Albaugh had D.T.’s mother put together a plan for success if D.T. were allowed to return home. He then filed a motion to modify D.T.’s probation before a violation was filed. He also spoke to D.T.’s probation officer about D.T.’s plan and was able to have him keep an open mind about the modification until the hearing.
At the hearing, the judge was happily surprised that D.T. had been proactive about seeking a modification rather than waiting for a violation to occur. During the hearing, Mr. Albaugh questioned D.T. and his mother to establish where D.T. would live, the job opportunities he would have, and the treatment programs that were local to his home. Mr. Albaugh also used the recent dirty test as a reason to modify the probation by arguing that the best chance for D.T. to successfully complete probation was to remove the Community Control provision and allow him to transfer back to his home state. The Judge agreed, and modified D.T.’s probation as requested.
Mr. Albaugh’s out of the box type thinking comes from years of criminal defense experience. If you are facing a probation issue or any other criminal law case, contact an experienced criminal law attorney at the Albaugh Law Firm who can fight to protect you.
