Illinois Supervision

Supervision is a deferral of a judgment of guilty in non-felony cases. Generally speaking it is a period of time, anywhere from 1 day to 2 years, where a person has to comply with certain conditions placed upon him by the court, and upon successful completion of the term of supervision the judge will dismiss all the charges against the defendant. According to Illinois statutes, when a judge gives a person to supervision “[t]he court shall defer entering judgment on the charges until the conclusion of the supervision.” 730 ILCS 5-6-3.1(d) “At the conclusion of the period of supervision, if the court determines that the defendant has successfully complied with all the conditions of supervision, the court shall discharge the defendant and enter a judgment dismissing the charges.” 730 ILCS 5-6-3.1(e) “Discharge and dismissal upon a successful completion of a disposition of supervision shall be deemed without adjudication of guilt and not be termed a conviction for purposes of disqualification or disabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime.” 730 ILCS 5-6-3.1(f)

During the period of supervision the court can impose certain conditions on a person including that they not violate any criminal statutes, not possess a firearm, not leave the state without permission, perform community service, pay restitution, fines, court costs, submit to drug testing, complete drug and alcohol treatment, stay away from certain places or people, and other conditions that the court determines appropriate. in most cases, a successful completion from a disposition of supervision can be removed from the public record through the Expungement process.

Failure to comply with the conditions imposed by the court may result in the revocation of the sentence of supervision. If the State’s Attorney believes that any condition of the supervision is not being complied with they will file a Petition to Revoke Supervision. Once filed the notice of what violations have occurred will be made known to the offender and a bond can be placed upon him to hold him in custody pending an evidentiary hearing on the non-compliance. the standard to prove that a violation occurred is proof by a preponderance of the evidence, not proof beyond reasonable doubt. Proof by a preponderance of the evidence, simply put, is whether it is more likely or not that the violations occurred. a judge, not a jury, will preside over the evidentiary hearing. During that hearing the defendant has the right to be represented by counsel, the right to confront and cross-examine the State’s witnesses, and the right to call witnesses on his own behalf. If the court determines that the terms of the supervision have been violated the judge will resentence the offender to any sentence that was available at the time the offender received the original sentence of supervision. This sentence could include a recommitment to supervision, a modification of the terms of the supervision, or jail time. If the supervision is revoked or terminated unsatisfactory, the deferral of judgment of guilt will not take place and the person will have a conviction on their record.