New Jersey Road Rage Probation Violation
On January 28, 2009, a Mercer County New Jersey Superior Court Judge sentenced Daniel Robbins, Jr. to 18 months in jail for violating his probation in New Jersey. The defendant had been convicted by a jury of two counts of assault by auto in November of 2006. In March of 2005, during a fit of road-rage, Robbins lost control of the vehicle he was driving and struck a pole. The accident caused one of the passengers in Robbins’ vehicle to sustain a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed. Initially, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Charles A. Delehey sentenced the defendant to 180 days in jail and five years probation.
The Judge determined that the defendant violated the terms of his probation on multiple occasions. He drove without a license and used illegal drugs on more than one occasion. Probation violations are taken very seriously by the judicial system. Typically, during sentencing on the initial charge, a Judge will advise a defendant that a probation violation of any magnitude will result in severe consequences. In fact, in this case the Judge indicated that “the court saw the sentence as a hammer that would hang over the defendant’s head and would provide him with an incentive to comply with society’s laws.” Once this defendant failed to comply with society’s laws and violated the terms of his probation, the court took severe action against him.
If you have violated your probation there may be circumstances that can help you minimize the punishment you may face when you return to court for your probation violation hearing. Contact a New Jersey probation violation attorney at Lependorf & Silverstein, P.C. for a free consultation.
