In Hillsborough County, the Court Administrative Office has set of a special Felony division, division K, to handle a large chunk of Felony violation of probation cases (VOP’s).

There are some circumstances that must occur to qualify for that special division. They are as follows. You must be on Felony probation. You must have violated your probation with either a new crime that is only at the misdemeanor level or violated with a technical violation. (Any violation not of the “new criminal offense” category is considered a technical; failing to report, not paying, a dirty urine, etc…).

There are some very good aspects to this division. Firstly, it allows attorneys the opportunity to set a court date almost immediately. A date can usually be set with a day of being contacted, and no later then two days. This allows us to get in court without the client sitting in jail with no bond for extended periods. Secondly, the Judge, currently Judge Daniel Perry, specializes in these matters and it has been my experience that this Court is extremely efficient and fair in resolving these matters.

In resolving many violations, it can often be proven to the Court that the violation was not “willful and/or substantial.” These factors must be present for a violation to be sustained. An example is failure to pay court cost or related expenses. If the probationer can prove that they are unable to financially meet those burdens, failure to pay those costs is NOT a violation.