my husband served 5 years in ferderal prison for a drug charge.he has 13 years federal probation now..we got into a fight few months back an...

Question

my husband served 5 years in ferderal prison for a drug charge.he has 13 years federal probation now..we got into a fight few months back and have a open family violence case..I didnt press any charges on him and filled out an non prosecution.we have talked to alot of people we feel when we go to court the case will be dropped...but he got arrested over it so its a violation...he has not been in any kind of trouble the year in half he has been out..he has passed all his UA tests and caught up on his probation fees...what do you think may happen???? is he gonna get any jail time over this??

Answer

First, do not count on a dismissal on the family violence case. That is not the norm in this day and age any longer - although it is worse in some counties than others. More times than not, even if the complainant (you) wants to drop charges and files an affidavit of nonprosecution and assures the prosecutor that it never happened before, ya'll are in counseling, and that it was not really a big deal, the prosecutors "pick up" the charges - meaning that they pursue them against the wishes of the complainant. If he does not have a lawyer on the family violence case, then he needs to have one to advocate for dismissal on his behalf. (Discuss with the lawyer whether counseling is appropriate and might be helpful. In some situations, if the offender takes anger management, counsel, and / or batterer's intervention prevention program then the State will dismiss the case.)

Regarding the federal case - it really depends on the judge and the report the judge receives from his probation officer. He can be revoked whether the case is dismissed or he is convicted. Once again, counseling or taking one or more of the courses could help. (I say that assuming that he is out but he may not be. If he is in custody, then he will need to check with the jail to see what, if any, programs they have available.) The more he does for himself and to demonstrate that he is willing to work hard to keep the probation, the better.

For the future, if anything between you guys happens again or if he starts to do anything that would violate his probation, you might just ask him if it is worth returning to prison over. Few things are.