HOW LONG DOES THE PROSECUTOR HAVE TO REVOKE MY PROBATION?

If you have been convicted of a crime and placed on probation there is usually some paperwork to sign. Even the most informal municipal courts will provide you with some conditions of probation and make you sign a document that says you understand the conditions and will abide by the conditions. If you think that the prosecutor intends to revoke your probation for violating the terms you agreed to abide by always look to the original documents you signed. The probation contract will usually dictate the duration of time that the prosecutor has to try to revoke your probation for an alleged violation.

Most of the time the prosecutor will have 60-90 days after the term of your probation to find out about violations. Here is how it works;

1. Defendant gets convicted of crime.
2. Judge sentences the defendant to a jail sentence but allows them to be on probation to avoid the jail time.
3. Judge reads the terms and condition of probation to the defendant.
4. Time elapses and defendant violates the terms of the probation.
5. Prosecutor files motion to revoke probation and asks the judge to put the defendant in jail.
6. Judge has hearing and decides if a violation occurred. Then decides what to do with the defendant.

Where it gets complicated is when the prosecutor doesn’t know about the violation until close to the end of the probation or after the probation term has ended. This is common when the violation is a new crime and it occurred in another state. The prosecutor may not find out about the violation until after the probation ends. In this case here is how it works;

1. If the violation occurred before the end of the term of the probation then the prosecutor can seek to revoke. (One year probation= Day 1 through day 365, If a violation occurs in that time they can revoke).
2. If the violation occurred after the term of the probation but before the 60-90 days they have reserved to file a motion to revoke then the prosecutor cannot revoke your probation. (One year probation= Day 366 +60-90 days).

If you have a pending motion to revoke probation you need to sit down with a criminal defense lawyer and look over your case. We assist clients with motions to revoke probation in Johnson County, Overland Park, Merriam, Mission, Leawood, Prairie Village, Shawnee, Lenexa and in many courts in across the Kansas City Metro.