Once you or your loved one has taken a plea of probation you should familiarize yourself with the Florida Statute on Early Termination. This will help when it is time to ask for the early termination of your probation. In this instance Florida Statute section 948.04 is the one you have to work under. Florida Statute section 948.04 states that if probationer has performed satisfactorily and has not been found in violation of any conditions of probation the department of corrections can recommend early termination of probation to the judge in your case. Even if the Department of Corrections does not want to recommend early termination the individual can still file the motion. There is no set time that a person has to wait before filing but it is recommended that the person wait until half of his term of probation is completed. It is important that during this time period the individual not get into any trouble or have any violations. If restitution is required it should all be paid before going before judge to ask for the early termination. I you do not have it paid the person will need to have an explanation of why it is not paid. I have been able to get the restitution converted to a civil judgment. It is not easy but it is possible.
Even if the judge in your particular case states that early termination will not be considered the person can still ask for it. This issue was addressed in Arriaga v. State 666 So2d 949 (1996). In that Florida case the court found that any such condition in which a judge said there can not be early termination the court found that the condition had to be stricken because a trial judge is not authorized to divest the department of corrections of its authority to recommend early termination of probation. Moreover a trial judge is not empowered to prevent the circuit court in the future from exercising its authority to discharge a probationer. It is very important to remember this because it will be brought up in some instances and if you think it is going to be a problem in the future you may be able to consider reusing judge if he made such a declaration at the time of plea. Even more important I find that many judges and prosecutors are not familiar with the law in this area and will inadvertently violate it at the expense of the defendant.
After reviewing the Florida Statute allowing early termination and the applicable case law that states that you have the right to ask for the early termination then you are ready to start your motion. Before I get started I will tell it is usually much more effective if you hire a criminal defense attorney to file the motion. Doing it by yourself can put you in a situation where you won’t have the answers causing motion to be