This page was written, edited, reviewed & approved by Brian LaVine following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. Brian LaVine the Founding Partner, 10+ years of legal experience as criminal defense attorney.
A probation violation happens when you fail to follow a condition of community supervision ordered by the court. In Texas, probation is called community supervision, and the conditions are written into a court order you signed. Breaking any one of them can put your freedom at risk, even when the alleged violation seems minor.
If you have been accused of a probation violation in Houston, LaVine Law Firm can review the allegation, the motion filed against you, and the conditions you were ordered to follow. Our Houston criminal defense attorneys handle motions to revoke and motions to adjudicate in Harris County and the surrounding counties.
Call 713-965-7305 for a free case evaluation.
Texas law defines community supervision as a court-ordered placement with conditions imposed for a set period. Those conditions take the place of time in custody, and the court expects strict compliance. Any failure to meet a condition can support a violation allegation.
Violations generally fall into two categories. Your supervision officer, the court, and the prosecutor treat them differently.
A technical violation is a failure to follow a rule of supervision rather than a new criminal offense. These allegations often come from paperwork, missed appointments, or unpaid balances. Common examples include the following:
Technical violations are the most common reason these motions get filed. They are also the allegations where documentation and context matter most.
A new-law violation alleges that you committed another criminal offense while under community supervision. An arrest or new charge may lead to a revocation allegation, but the arrest itself does not automatically prove that you violated probation.
The type of supervision you received controls what happens next. Many people do not know which one they have until a motion lands in their case.
With straight probation, the judge found you guilty, assessed a sentence, and then suspended it. You serve the supervision term instead of that sentence. If the court later revokes, your exposure is framed by the sentence already assessed in your case.
With deferred adjudication, the judge accepted your plea but never entered a finding of guilt. Complete the term and the case is dismissed and discharged. Violate it, and the State can ask the court to adjudicate guilt, which reopens the full sentencing range for the original offense.
Community supervision is governed by Chapter 42A of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Several articles in that chapter control how a violation is alleged, heard, and resolved.
This is the central revocation article. At any time during the supervision period, the judge may issue a warrant for a violation of any condition and have you arrested. Only the judge who ordered that arrest may authorize your release on bail.
The article also builds in a timing protection. If you have not been released on bail, you can file a motion asking to be brought before the court. The judge must then hold a hearing on the alleged violation within 20 days of that filing.
After a hearing held without a jury, the judge may continue, extend, modify, or revoke community supervision.
Deferred adjudication cases follow a parallel path. You may be arrested and detained the same way, but your hearing is limited to a single question: Whether the court will proceed to an adjudication of guilt on the original charge. The article also bars the court from adjudicating guilt when the only evidence supporting the alleged violation is an uncorroborated polygraph result.
Revocation is not the only outcome available to a judge who finds a violation. Article 42A.752 allows the court to continue or modify community supervision instead. Article 42A.753 allows the court to extend the supervision period.
These provisions matter more than most people realize. Much of the defense work in a probation violation case aims at moving the court toward continuation or modification rather than revocation.
Article 42A.754 sets out the court's authority to revoke community supervision. Article 42A.755 governs what follows a revocation, including how the court proceeds on the original case and when the term of confinement may be reduced.
Texas law recognizes an affirmative defense that turns on the State's own diligence. When the allegation is a failure to report or a failure to remain in a required place, the defense can apply if the supervising authorities did not use due diligence to contact or locate you. Article 42A.109 applies in deferred adjudication cases, and Article 42A.756 applies in revocation cases.
Harris County operates one of the largest supervision systems in the country through the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department. Cases here follow a predictable sequence:
A revocation hearing is not a new trial. Texas courts apply a preponderance of the evidence standard, which means the State must show that a violation more likely than not occurred. That is a lower bar than the beyond a reasonable doubt standard that applies at trial.
The judge decides the outcome alone. No jury sits on a revocation hearing, which makes preparation and credibility central to the result.
Texas law changes the analysis when nonpayment stands alone. If the motion alleges only that you failed to pay supervision fees, court costs, or the costs of legal services, the burden shifts. The State must then prove by a preponderance of the evidence that you were able to pay and did not pay as ordered by the judge.
Inability to pay is a real issue in these hearings, not an excuse. Pay records, layoff notices, medical expenses, and benefit statements can all become evidence.
You have a right to counsel at a revocation hearing, and the court must appoint counsel for a defendant who is indigent. The 20-day hearing timeline also applies when you remain in custody and file a motion asking to be brought before the court. Both protections come from Article 42A.751.
When a court revokes straight probation, it proceeds on the sentence that was already assessed and suspended in your case. Texas law also allows the judge to reduce the term of confinement in some situations. Because the sentence was set at the time of the plea or verdict, that number frames the exposure.
Adjudication of guilt works differently. No finding of guilt was entered when you were placed on deferred adjudication, so the court is not working from a previously assessed sentence. The full sentencing range for the original offense becomes available, and a conviction is entered on your record.
A revocation or an adjudication of guilt creates a record that follows you well beyond the courthouse. Employment screening, housing applications, and professional licensing can all be affected. Because a successfully completed deferred adjudication can leave different options open than a case that ends in adjudication, these hearings are worth defending carefully.
Every motion to revoke starts with the same question: What exactly does the State say you did, and can it prove that? Our team works the allegation and the record at the same time.
Steps you take before the hearing can shape what the judge hears. Consider the following:
Sometimes. Only the judge who ordered your arrest for the alleged violation can authorize release on bail, and that decision sits within the judge's discretion.
No. Texas law provides for a hearing without a jury. The judge decides whether a violation occurred and what happens to your supervision.
It is possible. A judge who finds that a violation occurred may continue or modify community supervision instead of revoking it, depending on the allegation and the record presented.
The court can retain jurisdiction past the end of the term. Where the State filed its motion and a capias issued before the supervision period expired, the court may still hold a hearing and rule on the motion.
Not automatically, though it complicates the request. Eligibility depends on the offense, the portion of the term completed, and the court's discretion.
A probation violation allegation moves faster than most people expect. Once a capias has been issued, the practical question becomes how quickly you can get in front of the judge with an organized answer.
LaVine Law Firm represents clients facing motions to revoke and motions to adjudicate in Harris County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, and Galveston County. Our attorneys, including Brian LaVine, Phil Stephenson, and Paul Meawad, handle these cases from our Houston office. Free confidential case evaluations and payment plans are available.
Call 713-965-7305 to schedule a free case evaluation about your probation violation.
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