This bill restructures the laws governing probation revocation and probation violation. It separates the procedures for probation revocation by arrest and by summons. The bill also makes the following substantive changes.

Currently, a person arrested for violation of probation may be incarcerated indefinitely upon the holding of a preliminary hearing, a procedure conducted by officials of the Department of Corrections in the facility where the probationer is incarcerated. No deadline currently exists for the filing of a motion for probation revocation with respect to a person incarcerated after a preliminary hearing or for that person's appearance in court. This can result in an undue length of time passing before such a person is brought before a judge or justice and given the opportunity to request that counsel be appointed and to request bail. This bill requires that when a person arrested for a violation of probation is held subsequent to a preliminary hearing, the motion for probation revocation must be filed within 5 days of the arrest. In addition, when such a person is not sooner released, an initial appearance must be held by the court within 14 days of the arrest.

Current law does not provide for an initial appearance, separate from the final hearing, on a motion to revoke probation. Nevertheless, courts have developed a routine practice of conducting initial appearances on motions for revocation of probation. The bill codifies the practice that has developed and sets forth procedures governing initial appearances on motions to revoke probation.

The bill also makes clear that a court may find a violation of probation, but nevertheless utilize none of the initially suspended sentence. This commonly occurs when a person on probation admits a violation of probation but, prior to final disposition, remedies the situation to the satisfaction of the attorney for the State and the court, for example, by paying restitution owed. The bill eliminates an ambiguity that exists under current law as to whether this practice is authorized. The bill also makes clear that the running of the period of probation is tolled between the date the proceedings are commenced and the date of final disposition, even if no part of the original suspension order is modified.

Finally, the bill provides the same protection to persons entering into an agreement with the attorney for the State for disposition of a motion to revoke probation as is currently provided under the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure for persons