The process of being arrested for a crime and subsequently having to navigate the court system can be incredibly intimidating and overwhelming. Our lawyers have handled tens of thousands of cases and we have always strived to represent our clients as efficiently, aggressively and effectively as possible. One of the ways that we help our clients is by making sure they know what is going on throughout each stage of the process.
One of the more confusing parts of a criminal case comes about when sentences, or punishments, are handed down by a court. Often times, a sentence will include a mandated term of community control. Our West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Leifert & Leifert have taken the time to, on this page, explore the terms and conditions of community control, as it is something that many of our clients have had to become familiar with.
Community Control Defined
To begin with, community control (as opposed to simple probation) is a form of intensive, supervised custody in the community, which includes surveillance on weekdays and holidays, administered by officers with restricted caseloads. Community control is an individualized program in which the freedoms of an offender are restricted within the community, home, or noninstitutional residential placement and specific sanctions are imposed and enforced on a case-by-case basis. As we know, Florida State Statute 948.101 details the terms and conditions of community control.
According to s. 948.101, the court shall determine the terms and conditions of community control. Conditions specified in s. 948.101 do not require oral pronouncement at the time of sentencing and may be considered standard conditions of community control. The court shall require intensive supervision and surveillance for an offender placed into community control, which may include, but is not limited to:
- Specified contact with the parole and probation officer;
- Confinement to an agreed-upon residence during hours away from employment and public service activities;
- Mandatory public service;
- Supervision by the Department of Corrections by means of an electronic monitoring device or system; and
- The standard conditions of probation set forth in s. 948.03.
How Our Attorneys Can Help
Our West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers know that the listing of specific kinds of terms and conditions does not prevent the court from adding any other terms or conditions that the court considers proper. However, the sentencing court may only impose a condition of supervision allowing an offender convicted of s. 794.011, s. 800.04, s. 827.071, s. 847.0135(5), or s. 847.0145 to reside in another state if the order stipulates that it is contingent upon the approval of the receiving state interstate compact authority. The court may rescind or modify at any time the terms and conditions theretofore imposed by it upon the offender in community control. Still, if the court withholds adjudication of guilt or imposes a period of incarceration as a condition of community control, the period may not exceed 364 days, and incarceration shall be restricted to a county facility, a probation and restitution center under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, a probation program drug punishment phase I secure residential treatment institution, or a community residential facility owned or operated by any entity providing such services.
