North Carolina parole conditions (Officially: “Conditions of Post Release Supervision”) are given to the convictedA conviction is a formal finding by a court - either following a trial by a judge or jury or following the entry of a pleaA plea agreementA plea agreement is usually a negotiated agreement between the defendant (through his lawyer) and the prosecution where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, including, but not limited to, a reduced sentence or a reduction of charges.
An Alford Plea is a guilty plea with all of the benefits and consequences of a guilty plea, but where the defendant does not admit personal guilt. is usually a negotiated agreement between the defendant (through his lawyer) and the prosecution where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, including, but not limited to, a reduced sentence or a reduction of charges.
An Alford Plea is a guilty plea with all of the benefits and consequences of a guilty plea, but where the defendant does not admit personal guilt. - of guilt. person on the day he is released from prisonA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of CorrectionsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length.. He signs them, along with his parole officer. If you or a loved one are facing a Parole Violation hearing, contact a criminal lawyer North Carolina.
NCGS 15A-1376 et seq governs parole violations in North Carolina. In addition, case law, including U.S. v. Morrissey (SCOTUS 1972) applies in North Carolina. Interestingly, 15A-1376 tracks U.S. v. Morrissey, a Brennan era opinion administrative law/due process opinion that lays out the actual procedure SCOTUS expected states to follow. As far as I can tell, there’s very little other case law from the state courts. If you have questions about how Parole Hearings work in North Carolina, contact criminal lawyer North Carolina.
What happens if a Parolee Violates the Conditions of Release?
If the parolee violates the conditions of release, the parolee is subject to immediate arrest and confinement, usually in the county jail.
The parole officer will give the parolee (or his client) a violation report, which will also indicate the date and time of the hearing.
State statute requires that the person be given a “preliminary hearing” with 7 working days (weekends, holidays don’t count) of his confinement.
If the hearing is scheduled more than 7 working days after the parolee’s confinement, statute suggests immediate release is the remedy, although enforcing that would require a habeas application.
The parolee can request a continuanceA motion to continueA motion to continue is a request by either party to a judge that a new date be set in the matter. Most criminal matters will have several continuances before both parties are ready to proceed. If the case is marked "Last," the the case must be resolved on the next court setting. is a request by either party to a judge that a new date be set in the matter. Most criminal matters will have several continuances before both parties are ready to proceed. If the case is marked "Last," the the case must be resolved on the next court setting., in which case the parolee waives his right the preliminary hearing within 7 days.
This preliminary hearing is run by a “Hearing Officer.” Statute requires that the “hearing officer” can be a judicial officer, or can be an employee of the DOCA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of CorrectionsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. whose full-time job is to conduct these hearings. (U.S. v. Morrissey requires this preliminary hearing and simply held that the hearing officer be independent, meaning that the officer could not be a parole or probationProbation may be either unsupervised or supervised. Unsupervised probation generally simply requires the person stay out of trouble for a specified period. If the person violates probation (perhaps by committing a new crime) the person may be required to serve an active sentence.
Supervised probation requires the person to check in with a probation officer, and may have additional requirements. officer.)
The purpose of this preliminary hearing is to determine whether there is “probable causeProbable cause is the standard of proof that justifies the arrest (or indictmentAn indictment is a finding by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed a crime. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An indictment, rather, is a method by which a prosecutor moves a case into Superior Court for resolution by plea or trial by jury.) of an individual. In order to find probable cause, a cautious officer, acting in good faith, must have sufficient information to believe that a crime has been or is being committed.” that the parolee did in fact commit a parole violation, allowing the parolee to be confined until the full parole commission hearing.
The preliminary hearing is an informal hearing where the rules of evidence do not apply. It is not unlike a probationProbation may be either unsupervised or supervised. Unsupervised probation generally simply requires the person stay out of trouble for a specified period. If the person violates probation (perhaps by committing a new crime) the person may be required to serve an active sentence.
Supervised probation requires the person to check in with a probation officer, and may have additional requirements. violation hearing, although even less formal. The parole officer attends, and she and the parolee are sworn in. The parole violation letter you or your client received suggests that you merely need to ask for a witness to be called, and the parole commission will make sure that person shows up to this preliminary hearing.
In fact, you need to get your witness there, and get permission from the jail to permit your witness to attend.
Note that parolees have a right to have retained counsel present, but parolees do not, according to case law or state statute, have the right to appointed counsel. As a result, the vast majority of people probably go unrepresented.
At the conclusion of the hearing, after the hearing officer finds that there is probable causeProbable cause is the standard of proof that justifies the arrest (or indictmentAn indictment is a finding by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed a crime. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An indictment, rather, is a method by which a prosecutor moves a case into Superior Court for resolution by plea or trial by jury.) of an individual. In order to find probable cause, a cautious officer, acting in good faith, must have sufficient information to believe that a crime has been or is being committed. of a violation, statute and case law give you a right to know the hearing officer’s findings and the facts on which he based his findings.
The full hearing should come within 45 days of the initial arrest on the parole violation. Since the preliminary hearing found probable causeProbable cause is the standard of proof that justifies the arrest (or indictmentAn indictment is a finding by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed a crime. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An indictment, rather, is a method by which a prosecutor moves a case into Superior Court for resolution by plea or trial by jury.) of an individual. In order to find probable cause, a cautious officer, acting in good faith, must have sufficient information to believe that a crime has been or is being committed., your client will probably be turned over by the local jail to the DOCA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of CorrectionsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length.. You should receive a letter from the hearing officer indicating the date, time, and location of the commission’s hearing.
How does the Parole Commission run its hearing?
As with the preliminary hearing, statute permits you to have witnesses (other than the parole officer and your client) attend the full parole hearing. You would need to work with the prisonA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of CorrectionsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. to permit their entry.
In addition, because cell phones are not permitted, if you have a recording on your cell phone that you want to play for the commission, you’ll need to either have a corrections officer carry the phone with him into the prisonA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of CorrectionsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. for you, or transfer it to another kind of device.
Both the parole officer and parolee are sworn in. If your client denies the allegation, the parole officer testifies at which point you can cross-examine.
Make sure that any violation alleged has a corresponding condition in the “Condition of Post-Release Supervision” document that the parolee signed.
Second, make sure that the violations alleged at the hearing are actually violations for which you or your client was given notice before the hearing.
Third, if your client has been arrested again on crime alleged to have occurred during parole, the parole officer may allege that the mere arrest is a violation of parole. This may be inconsistent with the Conditions of Post-Release Supervision agreement, which may state that the individual cannot commit crimes, not that the individual cannot be arrested.
Your client will be returned to custodyCustody is a general term used describe a condition where an individual does not feel free to leave, as the result of a show of police authority. A person in custody must be read his Miranda rights before being questioned by police. Custody includes arrest, but may be broader than arrest. following the hearing, and the commission will inform you within 10 days of its decision. In my case, the commissioner running the hearing essentially told me that he’d be released on the walk out of the prisonA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of CorrectionsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length..
The chances of success are low at a Parole hearing but with good representation you can at least get the ball rolling in your favor if you knock out a few of the frivolous or non-violation “violations” and secure release for your client.
Raleigh criminal lawyer Damon Chetson defends people charged with felonies, misdemeanors, traffic and DWI charges in Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and Wake County, NC. Durham Criminal Lawyer Damon Chetson also represents people charged in Wake County, Durham County, Orange County and Chatham County. The Chetson Firm is available day or night, weekdays or weekends. Call day or night for a free consultation (919) 352-9411.
