Probation violations are governed by Florida Statute § 948.06.  Oftentimes when someone is adjudicated guilty of a crime, the court will place that defendant on probation in lieu of sentencing them to jail time immediately.  If the defendant complies with all of the terms of probation and successfully completes probation, then jail time will not be an issue.

However, if, while on probation a defendant violates any of the terms of his or her probation, jail time becomes a very real possibility.  The following are just a few ways a defendant may violate his or her probation:

• Picking up a new law violation
• Failing to make timely reports to the probation officer
• Failure to make timely payments of the costs of supervision to the probation officer
• Failing any drug test or urinalysis
• Changing residence without first obtaining the consent of the probation officer
• If the defendant is on zero-tolerance probation, contact with drugs or alcohol will serve as a basis for violation

Because probation is viewed as a second chance, a violation of probation is governed by a unique set of rules which work to create an extreme disadvantage to the person charged with violating probation.  A violation of probation hearing may be treated as a separate, mini-trial, with the following MAJOR distinctions:

• While the burden of proof on the State is beyond a reasonable doubt in a normal criminal trial, the burden of proof at a violation of probation hearing is much less –preponderance of the evidence
• Preponderance of the evidence is 50% plus a feather –the State merely needs to barely tip the scale
• This makes it very easy for the State to prove their case
• Every violation of probation hearing is heard by a judge only.  There is no entitlement to a jury trial for a violation of probation hearing.  The judge is the one who hears all the evidence, and the judge is the one who decides if there was a willful and substantial violation, and what the appropriate sentence should be.
• While hearsay may not be the sole basis upon which the State proves a violation, hearsay is admissible at a violation of probation hearing, unlike a regular trial

When a defendant is adjudicated guilty of violating his or her probation, he or she may be sentenced up to the maximum amount would have been for the charge or charges for which they were originally placed on probation for.