Category Archives: Probation Expungement
Sealing and Expunging Criminal Records in Florida
This process is governed by Section 943.045 of the Florida Statutes. Expunction is like a magic wand that wipes out all traces of a criminal record. Sealing is like using White-Out to redact a criminal record. If you don’t know what White-Out is, feel free to Google it. Some state agencies, mostly law enforcement… Read More »
What’s the Difference Between Standard and Intensive Probation?
As far as probationers are concerned, all probation is intensive. Florida law contains a number of restrictive conditions. The judge isn’t legally required to inform the defendant of these standard conditions at the time of sentencing. Furthermore, Florida law gives judges almost complete discretion to add other conditions, as long as they don’t abuse… Read More »
Can I Get Unsupervised Probation in Florida?
In some states, only certain offenders, like nonviolent offenders, are eligible for unsupervised probation. But in the Sunshine State, the judge may order unsupervised probation in any case. “Unsupervised” doesn’t mean completely unsupervised, at least in most cases. However, this form of probation has, by far, the fewest rules and restrictions to follow. That’s… Read More »
Breaking Down Informal Probation in Florida
The key component of informal probation in the Sunshine State is deferred disposition. Quite simply, the judge “defers” the “disposition” of guilt until the defendant’s probation ends. Otherwise, informal probation is usually identical to standard probation, as outlined below. Probation began as a small, private jail alternative in the Northeast in the 1800s. Today,… Read More »
How Shocking is Shock Probation?
By the numbers, shock probation is shocking. The shock probation recidivism rate is significantly lower (25 percent) than the overall recidivism rate (40 percent). Basically, shock probation combines incarceration and probation. Usually, defendants serve a few weeks in jail before their probationary terms begin. The theory, which is apparently sound, is that jail is… Read More »
Record Sealing And Expunction In Florida
Life is difficult enough with a clean criminal history. A blemish on a permanent record, no matter how old the blemish is, makes things much harder. For example, when investigators look into criminal activity, they usually start with people that have criminal records. We all have skeletons in our closets. As a result, additional… Read More »