Community supervision in Texas is better known as probation, and it is important for people to understand there are significant differences between straight probation and deferred adjudication. When you are dealing with driving while intoxicated (DWI) charges in Denton County, you will want to be working with a Denton DWI community supervision/probation attorney.
With deferred adjudication, an alleged offender pleads guilty, but the judge does not enter an order of guilty, so the person can avoid a conviction being on their criminal record. With community supervision, on the other hand, a plea of guilty will be a conviction, but it is the sentence that is suspended so a person can avoid a jail or prison sentence but cannot petition for nondisclosure of the criminal record the same way they can with deferred adjudication.
DWI Community Supervision / Probation Defense Lawyer in Denton, Frisco, Lewisville, Flower Mound, TX
If you are currently facing DWI charges. contact the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy today for a consultation about your alleged offense in Denton, Frisco, Lewisville, Flower Mound, and surrounding areas of Denton County, Texas.
The Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy knows how to help people avoid possible jail or prison time for DWI offenses, and we can work to help you secure a sentence that allows you to maintain your freedom to a greater degree. Call (940) 222-8004 or contact us online for a free consultation that will let us look at the facts of your case and discuss all of the different options you may have.
How Community Supervision Works in Texas
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.001(1) defines community supervision as court placement of an alleged offender under a continuum of programs and sanctions, with conditions imposed by a court for a specified period during which criminal proceedings will be deferred without adjudication of guilt, or a sentence of imprisonment or confinement and/or a fine is probated, and the imposition of a sentence will be suspended in whole or in part. Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.051, unless a judge transfers jurisdiction of a case to another court, only the court in which an alleged offender is can grant community supervision, impose conditions, or discharge the alleged offender, and only a judge having jurisdiction of a case can, at any time during the period of community supervision, modify the conditions of community supervision.
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.052 does grant a judge the power to authorize a supervision officer supervising an alleged offender or a magistrate appointed by district courts in a county giving preference to criminal cases to modify conditions of community supervision for the limited purposes of transferring an alleged offender to different programs within the community supervision continuum of programs and sanctions or prioritizing the conditions ordered by the court according to the alleged offender’s progress under supervision. A supervision officer or magistrate modifying conditions of community supervision must deliver a copy of the modified conditions to the alleged offender, file a copy of the modified conditions with the sentencing court, and note the date of delivery of the copy in the alleged offender’s file.
Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.053, a judge can suspend the imposition of a sentence and place an alleged offender on community supervision or impose a fine applicable to the offense and place the alleged offender on community supervision. A judge cannot deny community supervision to an alleged offender based solely on their inability to speak, read, write, hear, or understand English.
An alleged offender will not be eligible for community supervision if they are sentenced to serve a prison term exceeding 10 years or a term of confinement under Texas Penal Code § 12.35 relating to a state jail felony. In a felony case, a minimum period of community supervision will be the same as the minimum term of imprisonment applicable to an alleged offense, and the maximum period of community supervision is 10 years for a felony other than a third-degree felony and five years for a third-degree felony under Title 7 of the Texas Penal Code and under Chapter 481 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
The minimum community supervision period for a felony described by Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.453(b) relating to a child safety zone is five years. The maximum community supervision period in a misdemeanor case is two years.
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.055 allows a jury that imposes confinement as a punishment for an offense to recommend to the judge that the judge suspend the imposition of a sentence and place an alleged offender on community supervision. A judge must suspend the imposition of a sentence and place an alleged offender on community supervision if a jury makes that recommendation in its verdict.
An alleged offender will be eligible for community supervision only if, before the trial begins, the alleged offender files a written sworn motion with the judge that they have not previously been convicted of a felony in Texas or any other state and a jury enters in a verdict a finding that information contained in an alleged offender’s motion is true. If a jury recommends to the judge that the judge place the alleged offender on community supervision, the judge must place the alleged offender on community supervision for any period permitted under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.053(d) and (f).
Deferred Adjudication in Denton County
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.101 establishes that if in the judge’s opinion, the best interest of both society and an alleged offender will be served, a judge can, after receiving a plea of guilty or nolo contendere (no contest), hearing the evidence, and finding that it substantiates an alleged offender’s guilt, defer further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt and place the alleged offender on deferred adjudication community supervision. After placing the alleged offender on deferred adjudication community supervision, the judge must inform the alleged offender orally or in writing of possible consequences for a violation of a condition of deferred adjudication community supervision.
Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.102(b), a judge can grant deferred adjudication community supervision unless an alleged offender is charged with an offense under Texas Penal Code § 49.045 (DWI with child passenger), Texas Penal Code § 49.05 (flying while intoxicated), Texas Penal Code § 49.065 (assembling or operating an amusement ride while intoxicated), Texas Penal Code § 49.07 (intoxication assault), or Texas Penal Code § 49.08 (intoxication manslaughter), or under Texas Penal Code § 49.04 (DWI) or Texas Penal Code § 49.06 (boating while intoxicated) when, at the time of an offense, an alleged offender held a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or a commercial learner’s permit, or the alleged offender’s alcohol concentration was 0.15 or more, or for which punishment may be increased under Texas Penal Code § 49.09 or Texas Health and Safety Code § 481.134(c), (d), (e), or (f).
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.103 states that in a felony case, the period of deferred adjudication community supervision cannot be more than 10 years. In misdemeanor cases, the period of deferred adjudication community supervision cannot be more than two years.
Conditions of Community Supervision
Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.301, a judge having jurisdiction of a case will determine conditions of community supervision after considering the results of a risk and needs assessment conducted with respect to an alleged offender. The assessment needs to be conducted using an instrument validated for the purpose of assessing the risks and needs of an alleged offender placed on community supervision.
A judge can impose any reasonable condition not duplicative of another condition and designed to protect or restore the community or the alleged victim, or punish, rehabilitate, or reform the alleged offender. In determining the conditions, the judge must consider the extent to which the conditions impact the alleged offender’s work, education, and community service schedule or obligations, and ability to meet financial obligations.
Conditions of community supervision can include conditions requiring an alleged offender to:
- commit no offense against laws of Texas or of any other state
- avoid injurious or vicious habits
- report to a supervision officer as directed by a judge or supervision officer and also obey all rules and regulations from the community supervision and corrections department
- permit a supervision officer to visit the alleged offender at their home or elsewhere
- faithfully work at suitable employment to the extent possible
- remain within a specified place
- pay in one or more amounts their fine and all court costs
- support the alleged offender’s dependents
- participate, for a period specified by a judge, in any community-based program, including a community service project
- if a judge determines that an alleged offender has financial resources that enable them to offset in part or in whole costs of legal services provided to the alleged offender in accordance with Article 1.051(c) or (d), including any expenses and costs, reimburse the county in which prosecution was instituted for costs of legal services in an amount that a judge finds the alleged offender is able to pay, except that an alleged offender may not be ordered to pay an amount that exceeds actual costs, including any expenses and costs, paid by the county for legal services provided by an appointed attorney, or if an alleged offender was represented by a public defender ‘s office, the actual amount, including any expenses and costs, that would have otherwise been paid to an appointed attorney had the county not had a public defender ‘s office
- when under custodial supervision in a community corrections facility, remain under such supervision, obey all rules and regulations of the facility, and pay a percentage of their income to the facility for room and board
- submit to testing for alcohol or controlled substances
- attend counseling sessions for substance abusers or participate in substance abuse treatment services in a program or facility approved or licensed by the Department of State Health Services with the consent of the alleged victim of a misdemeanor offense or of any offense under Title 7, Penal Code, participate in victim-alleged offender mediation submit to electronic monitoring
- reimburse compensation to victims of crime fund for any amounts paid from that fund to or on behalf of an alleged victim of the alleged offense or if no reimbursement is required, make one payment to the compensation to victims of crime fund in an amount of up to $50 if the offense is a misdemeanor or up to $100 if the offense is a felony
- reimburse a law enforcement agency for any analysis, storage, or disposal of raw materials, controlled substances, chemical precursors, drug paraphernalia, or other materials seized in connection with an alleged offense
- reimburse all or part of the reasonable and necessary costs incurred by the alleged victim for psychological counseling made necessary by an alleged offense or for counseling and education relating to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) made necessary by the offense
- pay a fine in an amount of up to $50 to a crime stoppers organization, as defined by Texas Government Code § 414.001, and as certified by the Texas Crime Stoppers Council
- submit a DNA sample to the Department of Public Safety under Subchapter G, Chapter 411 of the Texas Government Code, for the purpose of creating a DNA record of the alleged offender
- in any manner required by a judge, provide in the county in which an alleged offense was committed public notice of the alleged offense for which the alleged offender was placed on community supervision
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.302 stipulates that when a judge who has jurisdiction of a case requiring as a condition of community supervision that an alleged offender submit to a term of confinement in a county jail, such term of confinement cannot exceed 30 days in a misdemeanor case or 180 days in a felony case. A judge cannot impose a term of confinement that exceeds 24 months.
Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure § 42A.402, a judge granting community supervision to an alleged offender convicted of an offense under Chapter 49 of the Texas Penal Code can require as a condition of community supervision that an alleged offender submit to an evaluation by either a supervision officer or a person, program, or facility approved by the Department of State Health Services for the purpose of having the facility prescribe and carry out a course of conduct necessary for the rehabilitation of the alleged offender’s drug or alcohol dependence condition. If the director of a facility to which an alleged offender is referred determines that the alleged offender is not making a good faith effort to participate in a program of rehabilitation, the director must notify the judge who referred the alleged offender to the facility of that determination.
If a judge requires that an alleged offender participate in a prescribed course of conduct necessary for the rehabilitation of their drug or alcohol dependence condition as a condition of community supervision, the judge must require that the alleged offender pay for all or part of the cost of the rehabilitation based on their ability to pay. The judge, in their discretion, can credit against the fine assessed the cost paid by the alleged offender, and in determining an alleged offender’s ability to pay the cost of rehabilitation under this subsection, the judge must consider whether the alleged offender has insurance coverage that will pay for rehabilitation.
A judge who grants community supervision to an alleged offender convicted of an offense under Sections 49.04 to 49.08 of the Texas Penal Code must require, if an alleged offender has not submitted to an evaluation under Article 42A.257 before receiving community supervision, that the alleged offender submit to the evaluation as a condition of community supervision. If that evaluation indicates to the judge that the alleged offender needs treatment for drug or alcohol dependency, the judge must require the alleged offender to submit to such treatment as a condition of community supervision in a program or facility that is approved or licensed by the Department of State Health Services or complies with standards established by the community justice assistance division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, after consultation by the division with the Department of State Health Services.
Denton, TX DWI Community Supervision / Probation Resources
Community Supervision & Corrections Department — Visit this website to learn more about the Denton County Community Supervision & Corrections Department (CSCD). Find forms, jail work release information, web reporting and paying probation fees online, and find other helpful resources. There is also information about electronic monitoring and ignition interlock devices.
The Challenges of Living on Community Supervision — Prison Fellowship works to restore America’s criminal justice system and the people it affects by helping men and women replace the cycle of brokenness that landed them in prison and advocating for justice reform. This article discusses some of the differences between probation and parole, as well as discussing other enormous consequences of community supervision. It discusses some of the ways in which community supervision can go wrong and how some people can never feel truly free.
Find A Denton County Defense Attorney for Community Supervision / Probation Charges | Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy
Are you facing DWI charges in Denton County? Contact the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy today for a consultation about your alleged offense in Denton, Frisco, Lewisville, Flower Mound, and surrounding areas of Denton County, Texas.
The Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy knows how frightening the prospect of jail or prison can be for many alleged DWI offenders, and we can work to make sure that you are able to avoid the harshest consequences of criminal convictions. You can call (940) 222-8004 or contact us online to take advantage of a free consultation that will let us really examine your case in great detail and outline possible legal strategies you can use to fight the criminal charges.