I had a Violation of Probation Hearing yesterday in Circuit Court for alleged interlock “failures.” There were none. The client’s first blow was unsuccessful but the subsequent blow was a pass. I explained to the judge my conversations with the two District Court judges about using the MVA standard for probation. I explained that unless you limit Violation of Probation reporting to MVA failures, you will be issuing summonses or warrants for people who are actually in full compliance.
I suggested she mark her Probation Orders with instructions that only MVA Violations be reported. She thanked me for the explanation and will adopt that standard.As a result there will be less legal business, but you the client will not be penalized for obeying the interlock requirements. That is how it is supposed to be.