So you’ve been convicted of a felony in Las Vegas. You’re not too keen on spending time in prison, but it’s one of your sentence penalties. Thankfully, your defense attorney believes that your case is eligible for a felony probation, if you can request one from the court.
Nevada law grants people convicted of felonies to avail of probation for their cases. However, the state is very strict about the requirements before it can approve any applications. Three of the most important factors are listed below.
Not a Violent Crime
Violent crimes are automatically marked as higher-category felonies. A crime counts as a violent crime if a victim was severely wounded or killed during the act. Any defendant convicted for a violent crime becomes ineligible to apply for felony probation.
There are many felonies that are not violent, but not all of them are fully eligible for probation. In addition, some non-violent felonies may also be prohibited from application if they go beyond a maximum limit, or if the charge goes to federal court. Examples of non-violent felonies include:
- Property crimes like larceny and embezzlement
- White collar crimes like tax fraud
- Drug crimes
Ask your lawyer about whether or not your non-violent crime can be eligible for probation.
Clean Sheet
Applying for a felony probation is harder for defendants who have a criminal record prior to their current conviction. A prior record means that the defendant may reoffend while outside prison. As such, courts tend to automatically deny probation requests from such individuals.
The court expects a defendant to be trustworthy enough to be given a bit more freedom while serving their sentence; having convictions from earlier charges can complicate things. If it is your first conviction, chances are the judge will be a bit more lenient about your request to serve out the rest of your term under probation.
No Lethal Weapons
As stated earlier, you’re going to have a hard time applying for a felony probation if you committed a violent crime. What makes the process more difficult is if the crime also involved a deadly weapon. This further escalates the crime into a higher level of felony. Murder and aggravated assault are common examples where deadly weapons are involved.
Applying for a felony probation can make your time serving a conviction easier, and with good behavior can even lead to a shorter sentence. Of course, that still depends on the severity of your crime. Ask your Las Vegas defense attorney about what circumstances apply to your case.
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