DUI as a Violation of Probation in Columbia

If you have received a DUI charge while on a probation sentence, know that you do not have to face its consequences alone. Because the implications of any criminal behavior while on probation can have serious impacts on an individual’s sentence, you will want to help of a determined DUI lawyer on your side at all times. Read on to learn more about DUI as a violation of probation in Columbia, as well as the ways a skilled attorney can advocate for your best interests today.

A Judge’s Decisions

After receiving a DUI, a judge has the decision to continue someone on probation, terminate their probation, or revoke their probation. The judge cannot give two probationary sentences. The judge could continue the individual on probation if they saw the DUI as a violation of probation in Columbia. If the DUI was a new charge that the driver pled guilty to, the judge could terminate the prior probationary sentence and issue a new probationary sentence, but they cannot give more probation on top of an existing sentence. The options would be continue, terminate, or revoke as far as the judge’s decision on how to resolve the individual’s probationary sentence.

Hearing Procedures

If someone is on probation and they get charged or arrested for DUI, that subsequent criminal activity will trigger a hearing for a judge to determine whether the individual has violated the terms of their probation and whether to revoke that probation and send them to jail. If acquitted in the DUI case, one’s ability to go back on probation will depend on the timing of the probationary hearing. If the hearing happens after the acquittal, the likelihood that the judge would violate based on that arrest would be very low because the driver was not guilty. If the violation of probation hearing was held prior to the individual’s trial and acquittal, then the judge could possibly consider the DUI as a violation of probation in Columbia.

Most general session court judges will not send someone to jail on a probation violation when the individual has a pending criminal charge. They want to wait and see how it is resolved when making their decision to revoke. Judges have done it before, but it is rare. Generally, a judge wants to know exactly what the conviction would be prior to finding a DUI as a violation of probation in Columbia.

Impact on Future Sentencing

A DUI as a violation of probation in Columbia can have very serious consequences for an individual’s future, as their probationary sentence has a very significant impact on the potential sentence that was suspended to probation. For example, if the driver had been on probation for any type of crime or conviction and a judge had sentenced them to 10 years in jail suspended upon three years of probation, that individual would have 10 years with the South Carolina Department of Corrections hanging over their head while they are on probation.

If they violate probation because they were arrested and later convicted of DUI, then the judge, during the hearing, determines whether or not they see the DUI as a violation of probation in Columbia. They could potentially give the individual all 10 years of the sentence that was suspended to probation, and that does not include the DUI arrest and conviction. There would technically be two separate convictions and two separate sentences that the driver would then have to deal with. If you fear that a judge will see your DUI as a violation of probation in Columbia, consider retaining the protection of a dedicated criminal lawyer as soon as possible.