New Probation Violation Reform Laws Now in Effect in RI

June 12, 2010 marked the day when new probation violation laws went into effect here in Rhode Island. 

The bill, sponsored by Senators Perry, Levesque C, Miller, Metts and Sosnowski, and Representative David Segal, makes it illegal to keep someone in prison for violating probation for a crime that they were never proven of committing.

The law was changed because, in addition to two other states in the US, RI had the worst probation violation law in existence. The previous law stated that a person who was charged with any crime, whether proven guilty or not, would be in violation of their probation for any past crimes for which they had already been convicted and sentenced. This law, in effect, had the capability to send people back to prison on the violation of their probation to serve out any suspended sentence, whether they were guilty of the allegations of the second charged crime or not.

The lunacy of this law played out in courtrooms where individuals would plead to lesser offenses, whether they were guilty or not. The reason behind this being that the defense of innocence to the crime that caused the violation in the first place, was not something that would keep them from having to return to prison for the violation itself.

The new law requires that any violations that are based upon a new charge for which the defendant has not been adjudged guilty (or acquitted or dismissed) within a reasonable amount of time, must be dismissed.

This is a tremendous leap in the criminal justice system for this State. In the past, RI had the unenviable position of being the worst state in the country regarding probation violation laws. Defendants were adjudged at the lowest standard of proof, and hearings were held at a time when mounting an adequate defense was all but impossible.

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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.