North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

A string of recent cases have shown what absconding isn’t. A case from the court of appeals this week gives us an example of what absconding is.

In State v. Krider, __ N.C. App. __, 810 S.E.2d 828 (2018) (discussed here), a divided court of appeals vacated the defendant’s probation revocation based on absconding. Last week, the supreme court affirmed the court of appeals. Today’s post considers what Krider tells us about absconding—and what constitutes sufficient proof of any probation violation.

It seems to be getting harder, not easier, to say what it means to abscond from probation.

A special purpose extension of probation is permitted only for certain specified purposes. According to a case decided earlier this week, substance abuse treatment isn’t one of them.

When it comes to giving proper notice of a probation violation, what is the critical thing: identifying the condition actually violated, or describing the behavior constituting the violation? The supreme court tells us in State v. Moore.

One of the statutory aggravating factors for felony sentencing is that the defendant has, during the 10-year period prior to the commission of the offense now being sentenced, been found to be in willful violation of probation, post-release supervision, or parole. G.S. 15A-1340.16(d)(12a). It sounds straightforward enough, but it turns out to be a little tricky to apply in practice.

A probation violation need not be alleged with the technical precision of an indictment, but there are still some rules about the right way to prepare a probation violation report.

A recent appellate case sheds additional light on what it means to abscond from probation.

“Arrest on first positive drug screen. $50,000 secured bond.”

“Hold without bond for any probation violation.”

May a judge sentencing a defendant to probation include instructions such as these in the judgment suspending sentence?

I can’t be the only one who has a tough time keeping track of what sanctions are permissible in response to different types of probation violations in different types of cases. It’s the kind of thing that requires a chart. And you know I love a chart.