When a person is convicted of a criminal offense, or enters a plea of guilty or no contest, they can either be ordered to serve a period of jail or prison time or, if his or her record isn’t significant, he or she can be placed on probation by the judge. The judge will place the person on probation for a specific period of time with special conditions such as community service, restitution, or writing a letter of apology to the victim. Once on probation, the person could violate probation by either a technical or new law violation.

For example, if an offender fails to pay restitution the probation officer could submit an affidavit to the judge citing that the person failed to comply with the special conditions of probation and a warrant could be issued placing him or her in jail until a court date. If while someone is on probation he or she is arrested for a criminal offense, that is a new law violation. Both examples are called violations of probation. There are several risks to both types of violations including preserving a previous withhold of adjudication or the risk of being sent to jail or prison depending on the severity of the violation and the severity of the original crime.

Violations of Community Control are a more intense type of probation. This type of probation is literally the last type of probation a person can be placed on before the court incarcerates him or her. The most specific difference between probation and community control is that the person on probation is required to be at his or her residence during a specific period of time, usually early evening to early morning, precluding that person from running to the store for a gallon of milk at 9 pm. Community Control is commonly known as house arrest.

An important thing to note is that a person is not constitutionally entitled to a bond in Violation of Probation or Violation of Community Control cases.  This means that you may have to remain in jail until a hearing on the violation is conducted.  Even though a person is not constitutionally entitled to a bond, the law allows your attorney to file a Motion to Set Bond asking the Court to use its discretion and set bond.