Criminal Defense
Since 1993
Since 1993
Do I Qualify for Early Termination of Probation?
So, do you qualify for early termination of probation? Well, one way to find out is to dig out that plea form. And, dig out those sentencing documents. Because, the biggest speed bump and the way you’re going to blow this whole thing up is if that document says “No Early Termination” on it somewhere. Then, you do not qualify and you can stop this video right now. You don’t qualify for early-term and there’s nothing we can do to undo that agreement that you made at the beginning of the case that put you on probation.
But let’s assume today that you don’t have that in your documents–well, silence is golden. Now we can say that most people qualify for early termination of probation.
You don’t have to have any particular case, every crime in Florida qualifies for early termination of probation. But practically speaking, you’re not going to get early termination granted unless you’ve jumped through certain hoops.
For example, obviously, to qualify with most judges you’ve got to complete everything and paid everything and done everything. That’s good. Some judges want you to complete half of the probation but I can tell you that qualification–you qualify for early termination before the halfway point. I’ve had it granted before the halfway point. But, it has to be the right judge, and it has to be the right circumstance. So, that’s good news for some people that don’t even want to wait until the halfway point. But, it could be bad news if you’re in front of a judge that won’t do it until the halfway point is met.
Now, there’s also a mandatory early termination provision found in Florida Statutes 948.04(4). That’s a whole separate issue. We’re going to address those issues in a separate video but for now, I’m here to tell you that almost everybody and every charge qualifies for early termination of probation. That’s the good news.
Finally, find an attorney that knows the judge that’s going to be granting this so that you can get the ins and outs on how to make this work with that particular judge. Good luck.