Legal Question in Criminal Law in Maryland

Hello. I have a question for a friend. He just finished his parole at the end of August and right before the end of August, he was arrested for a warrant he had and didn't know about. He had a court date that he didn't go to because he was under the impression, it was taken care of before the court date. The court date was because he is not to have any contact with his daughters mother and she claimed that he threatened her which if it was to happen it wouldn't have been in person but I think she took something he said over the phone as a threat. So he missed the court date and was arrested mid August. He has a court date set for next week for the violation of parole. How serious is this violation of parole if the "threatening" can't be proved since he wasn't in the same county as her when she claimed this happened? Also what's the worst case scenario if her claims were un-true? Are they basing the violation of parole on the fact that he missed the court date or the algid threatening?


Asked on 10/05/09, 11:41 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
William Welch William L. Welch, III Attorney

There are different but related issues. Parole conditions require a person to appear for court when summoned, regardless of the merit of the criminal case. Also, the standard of proof for a parole violation is lower. Accordingly, a person may be violated for failing to appear for a criminal case that was ultimately dismissed. In practice this is rare.

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Answered on 10/10/09, 2:13 pm


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