I’m happy to announce the availability of the Second Edition of Probation Violations in North Carolina.
The book is available in the School of Government bookstore, here.
Even though the number of people on probation in North Carolina is about half of what it was when I started at the School of Government in 2007, probation violations are still a high-volume issue for our correctional system and our courts. And they’re complicated, particularly after passage of the Justice Reinvestment Act in 2011 and a subsequent series of technical corrections. Things are more stable now. And many of the trickier aspects of Justice Reinvestment have been resolved (or at least clarified) by the appellate courts.
The School published the first edition of Probation Violations in North Carolina in 2018. Actually, some of you may recall that there was a precursor publication—a little lime green trifold booklet that summarized the probation violation process. But after Justice Reinvestment, the content outgrew that format.
The new edition of the book includes cases and legislation through June 2025. Inside the front cover is an updated chart showing all the actions a trial court can take at a probation violation hearing depending on the type of case—felony, misdemeanor, or DWI. Among the revisions is the addition of “quick dips” for DWI cases, added through a legislative amendment in 2023.
The book addresses many of the frequently asked questions related to probation violations, including:
- When a pending charge or a technical violation can be handled as a revocation-eligible “commit no criminal offense” violation, and when it can’t. For example, the courts have made clear that a positive drug screen, standing alone, should not be reframed as a new criminal offense. See State v. Hemingway, 278 N.C. App. 538, 544 n.1 (2021) (“The trial court was certainly without statutory authority to revoke [the defendant’s] probation merely for a positive drug screen.”) (cited in note 176 of the book).
- The latest cases on what qualifies as absconding.
- The requirement to make a finding of “good cause shown and stated” to preserve the court’s authority to act on a “discontinued” case (one with a violation still pending after the case has expired).
- Conditional discharge “limbo” situations, where a defendant isn’t in violation, but likewise hasn’t completed all the things he or she was supposed to do.
I hope the book is useful in your work.