What should I expect to happen for being arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia while I am on county probation for First Offense Driving Under the Influence? I have not had any other violations and I am 8 months into my one-year probationary period and other that the DUI I have no other criminal record.I was not taken to jail for the paraphernalia but I was given a Notice to Appear by the Deputy.
A: The ultimate outcome in most likelihood will not be as bad as what you will experience to begin with. The new Paraphernalia charge will result in a probation violation affidavit with the Court and an arrest. Most likely, the Court will not set a bond amount until after your arrest and your First Appearance hearing. Depending on the Judge, you might not get a bond at First Appearance. In that case you will sit in jail until you can be scheduled for a bond hearing. Possibly, you might skip the bond hearing and go straight to a final disposition if you don’t want to fight the charges. The likely result is that you will be adjudicated guilty, given a new term of probation to complete the original requirements (your probation lapses while you are in a violation status) and required to wear a drug patch monitor. It is likely that the prosecutor will recommend a minimal amount of jail time also. Sometime they will settle for house arrest in lieu of the jail time. Much of this depends on whether you get a seasoned prosecutor who will value the case realistically or whether you are assigned a new prosecutor who believes that jail is a good thing and solves all societal problems. I wouldn’t recommend facing a prosecutor alone on a probation violation. A criminal defense lawyer if given enough time in advance should be able to get a bond set in advance so that you don’t have to spend time in jail and open plea negotiations immediately or gear the case up for trial to get the best possible result.