Probation Violations, Orders to Show Cause, Reductions and Expungements: What to do.

UTAH PROBATION VIOLATIONS, ORDERS TO SHOW CAUSE, RULE 402 REDUCTIONS AND EXPUNGEMENTS

Hiring the Right Provo/Orem Criminal Defense Lawyer—Jake Gunter. Let his nearly 20 years experience work for you.

Types of Probation Violations.

1. New charges.  Charges are sufficient to violate you.  Don’t need a conviction to render a probation violation.
2. Failure to pay the fine.
3. Failure to pay restitution.
4. Failure to provide treatment updates to the court.
5. Failure to start treatment.
6. Failure to complete treatment.
7. Positive drug tests.
8. Positive alcohol tests.
9. Failure to report to your Provo/Orem probation provider.
10. Failure to report to your Utah Adult Probation & Parole agent.

Probation violations are very serious.

Due Process for Orders to Show Cause in Criminal Cases.

Types of Probation Violations Sanctions.

1. Graduated scale of available sanctions. This means that the judge normally picks a conservative sanction as a tool to encourage cooperation with the court’s probation term orders.  Then gradually moves up the severity ladder to ensure cooperation.
2. Back to prison.
3. Extend probation.
4. Extra fines.
5. Community service.
6. Back to jail.
7. Revoked probation and send to jail and close the case.
8. Close the case unsuccessfully.
9. Revoked the Plea in Abeyance and close the case.

Orders to Show Cause can put you back in jail or prison.

CONSEQUENCES OF HAVING YOUR PROVO/OREM CRIMINAL CASE CLOSED UNSUCCESSFULLY. (super bad)

1. Can’t get an expungement.
2. Will always owe restitution. Restitution never goes away, not even in Bankruptcy.
3. Fines never go away either.
4. Generally not eligible for a Rule 402 reduction.
5. Effect on how the judges treat you in future cases.

PROVO/OREM MOTION FOR RULE 402 REDUCTIONS:  WHAT ARE THEY?

1. Restrictions on use. Generally it is your performance records on probation or parole which dictates when a judge will allow a Rule 402 reduction.  If you had several orders to show cause, plus numerous bench warrants, your performance may not condone a Rule 402 reduction.
2. When commonly used. How commonly used.   Rule 402 reductions are used to get Class B and Class C Misdemeanors off someone’s Utah criminal record.  You file a Rule 402 one step reduction on Class C Misdemeanor to reduce it down to an Infraction, which is not a crime in Utah. Or you ask for a two-step reduction from a Class B to an Infraction.

Other times your Provo/Orem attorney will file a Rule 402 reduction motion on a 3^rd Degree Felony, to reduce it to a Class A Misdemeanor—thus allowing the defendant to be able to state he does not have a Felony record.   Which helps with employment.
Other common uses of Rule 402 reductions are where they are guaranteed as part of the plea agreement.  This can occur where a defendant pleads to a 2^nd Degree Felony, but as part of the plea agreement the prosecutor states he will stipulate and agree in writing to a subsequent two-step 402 reduction to a Class A Misdemeanor if the defendant successfully completes probation.

Utah Expungements

EXPUNGEMENTS IN PROVO/OREM JUSTICE AND DISTRICT COURTS.

Utah’s Expungement Act can be found at Utah Code Ann. 77-40-101 (2018).  There are some crimes which can never be expunged, unless you are pardoned by the Governor of Utah.  But many, many criminal convictions can be expunged.
The following crimes cannot be expunged.
(1).  Any registerable sex offense.
(2).  Any registerable kidnapping offense.
(3).  First degree murder.

REQUIRED WAIT TIMES TO EXPUNGE YOUR UTAH CRIMINAL RECORD.

Here are the common timelines in order for you to be eligible for a Utah expungement.

(1).  10 years for DUIs and Impaired Driving convictions.
(2).  Successfull completion of the case in the conviction you are trying to expunge.  If you did not fully pay the restitution, or fines, the case is never eligible for expungement.
(3).  5 years wait period for Class A Misdemeanors.
(4).  4 years wait period for Class B Misdemeanors.
(5).  3 years wait period for Class C Misdemeanors.

NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE UTAH CONVICTIONS THAT YOU CAN EXPUNGE.

Not only are there waiting periods, but there are also restrictions on how many criminal convictions you can have and the types and combinations of convictions you can have.  More than five criminal convictions of any grades bars you from any type of criminal expungement.   There is an exception to this rule of five if you can get a case severity reduced by a Rule 402 reduction motion, then move the courts for an expungement.

RULE 402 REDUCTIONS AND EXPUNGEMENTS AND HOW THE INTERPLAY WORKS TO MAKE YOU QUALIFY FOR A UTAH EXPUNGEMENT.

Sometimes you have too many criminal convictions to qualify for a Utah expungement.  If you have over five convictions, regardless of their severity, you don’t qualify for a Utah expungement.  The trick is to have your Provo/Orem attorney file one or more Rule 402 reduction motions to get your criminal record to a point where you do qualify.

EXAMPLE:  You can’t have over five criminal convictions of any sort and still qualify for an expungement.  Your criminal record has two Class C Misdemeanors, two Class B Misdemeanors and one Class A Misdemeanor.  Under these facts you would not automatically qualify for an expungement.  You simply have too many convictions to qualify.

The Rule 402 reduction comes into play by moving the court to reduce by one grade the two Class C Misdemeanors to Infractions because Utah Infractions do not count against your record when it comes to expungement.

In the above example, where you had too many convictions, after the Rule 402 reductions pushed the two Class C Misdemeanors down to Infractions, you thereafter qualify to expunge the remaining Class A Misdemeanor and the two Class B Misdemeanors.  Without the Rule 402 reduction motion, you didn’t qualify.

SEE WHAT UTAH CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY JAKE GUNTER DOES AND HOW HE CAN REPRESENT YOU.