Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
If you have been placed on Probation this means that you either plead guilty to a felony, or were found guilty after a trial of a felony, and received a sentence of Probation from the court. A sentence of Probation is the sentence that you receive just short of going to jail. The court will require that you do certain things such as get a mental health evaluation and follow all treatment recommendations, get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow through on any of their recommendations, perform community service or SWAP, get a high school diploma, or whatever other conditions that the court may require. Every case is different and the terms of the Probation will vary from case to case. While you are on Probation you cannot violate the law and you must appear for every court date and for every meeting with your Probation Officer. Plus, you must pay all the fines, fees and court costs.
If you plead guilty to a misdemeanor, or were found guilty of a misdemeanor after a trial, the judge could sentence you to Court Supervision, Conditional Discharge, or convict you of the misdemeanor. If you receive Court Supervision or Conditional Discharge, you will be sentenced to a period of Probation that will usually be supervised by the Social Services Department. The Judge will also impose conditions to the Supervision or Conditional Discharge which could be like the requirements placed upon those who receive Felony Probation. If you are convicted of the misdemeanor and sentenced to Misdemeanor Probation, the same Probation Department that monitors felony Probation will monitor your Probation.
When you are sentenced to Probation, or to a Probation type sentence for a Misdemeanor, just before you are sentenced, you will plead guilty to the charges. This is very important to remember because if you do not successfully complete your Probation then you cannot go back into court and challenge the criminal charges against you. You have already plead guilty so the issue of your guilt or innocence is closed. By pleading guilty you admitted that you did what you have been charged with and you are giving up your right to go back to court and fight the charges.
I woke up to multiple news reports this morning that former National Security advisor, Michael Flynn, has offered to cooperate with Federal Investigators in return for a grant of immunity. I was watching news coverage and notice that the media is not reporting all of the various factors and steps that have to be taken in order for this to happen. The reporting is very simple. However, the topic is certainly more complex than what is being reported. I want to focus on a couple of things that the media is not talking about.
The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office has a unique program which gives first time non-violent offenders an opportunity to avoid having a felony or misdemeanor conviction on their record. It’s called the Deferred Prosecution Program. The Kane County Deferred Prosecution Program started in 1995 and was originally called “Second Chance.” Prosecutors working in Kane County, as well as criminal defense lawyers, have long sensed that this was a good program with good results. Recently, those beliefs were proven to be true. A study was conducted with the help of Aurora University to study how effective this program was. That study showed that 92% of criminal defendants placed into this program have not been convicted of any crime since completing the program. A 92% success rate is good no matter how you look at it. In my 26 years of practicing criminal law, I have had the opportunity to have many of my clients accepted into this program and agree that it is effective and is a great opportunity for a first-time offender to avoid having a criminal record. Let’s discuss what this program is and how it all works.
TASC Probation is a special kind of probation that is available to criminal defendants who have substance abuse issues and elect to receive treatment for their disorder. It’s a possible sentence that I have explored throughout the years to help my clients avoid a criminal conviction and be able to move on with their lives. TASC stands for “Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities.” This not for profit organization has offices throughout the State of Illinois in every County that provides treatment services for adults who have substance abuse issues. TASC probation is different from regular drug probation in that you do not have to be charged with a drug crime to receive TASC probation.