Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
V.O.P.
friend had warrant for felony violation of probation for 5yrs. recently picked-up. goes to court they set it for PT i'm guessing pre-trial. in 2001 the arrest was on commercial burglary. so is the pre-trial for actual case or the violation of probation? and what kind of sentence does that carry.
comm.burglary.. from stealing checks,cashing, cleaning checks and rewriting them..something like that.. all i know its $63,000 worth.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: V.O.P.
Neither.
If your friend has already received probation for the commercial burglary then he has already been tried and convicted of that offense. The fact that he has a pre-trial scheduled demonstrates that he is facing another trial, but probationers don't go to trial merely for having violated their probation.
The pending trial suggests that the act which violated your friend's probation was also a crime in its own right. Without knowing the charges he is facing or the circumstances thereof, there is no way I can say what sort of sentence he might receive.
In addition to the new crime, your friend will probably have to serve out the remaining portion of his sentence on the burglary. Thus, if he had a three-year sentence which was stayed pending successful completion of his probation, he has likely been returned to prison already to serve those three years. If he is convicted of different charges in his next trial, he will likely begin serving his new sentence at the end of the sentence he is now serving.
Re: V.O.P.
The proper question is 'what should he be doing about the charges?' Answer: get a good attorney to defend them, since conviction carries jail time on the new charges, and service of the remaining time of suspended sentence on the original charges. Feel free to contact me if serious about dealing with this, and it is in SoCal.
Related Questions & Answers
-
What happens to the inmates of prisons when a tsunami hits? ...if a tsunami were to... Asked 11/23/06, 11:23 pm in United States California Criminal Law
-
Arsen I unintentially lighted my boyfriends boxers on fire, burning my night stand... Asked 11/23/06, 7:17 pm in United States California Criminal Law