The Appeals Court vacated a 2.5 year jail sentence imposed by a Boston Municipal Court (BMC) judge because the judge applied the wrong legal standard at the defendant’s probation violation hearing.
The defendant was charged with assault and battery in 2023. In early 2024 she tendered a plea and received a continuation without a finding (CWOF) with nine months of probation.
Within days of her plea, the defendant was charged with committing new crimes. This triggered a violation of probation (VOP) hearing.
After the hearing, the BMC judge told the defendant “I find there’s probable cause for the new offense.” Consequently, he sentenced the defendant to 2.5 years in jail.
The standard applied at a VOP hearing is not “probable cause.” It’s the slightly more stringent standard of “a preponderance of the evidence.” Because the judge used the wrong standard, the Appeals Court vacated his decision.
The Appeals Court writes:
The standard of proof applicable at a probation violation hearing is preponderance of the evidence. Probable cause is a lower standard than proof by a preponderance of the evidence. Accordingly, we vacate the probation violation finding.
The full text of the opinion is attached below.