What is Shock Probation in Texas? By Jason Trumpler, P.C. on November 11, 2014

"Shock probation" or more accurately "shock community supervision" is a provision in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure that allows a judge to temporarily send a defendant to prison or jail before returning him or her before the court and sentencing him or her to community supervision. In essence, it is a scared straight provision found in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42A.201 and 42A.202.

42A.202 covers felonies and states that after a judge sentences a defendant to prison, the judge retains jurisdiction over the case for 180 days. Upon motion from the State or written motion of the defendant, the judge must conclude that the judge wants to suspend further execution of the sentence and place the defendant on community supervision. The judge can do this if he or she believes that the defendant would not benefit from further imprisonment, the defendant is otherwise eligible for community supervision, and that the defendant has never faced felony incarceration in prison before.

This means that a defendant can be sentenced to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division, but ordered back within six months to have his sentence converted to a community supervision sentence. It is a valuable tool for a defendant who has made an enormous mistake but has never gone to prison. It can be a beneficial way to keep someone from serving a lengthy prison sentence.

The provision on misdemeanors, 42A.201, is roughly the same, but far less valuable since the maximum amount of time you can serve is one year.

Jason Trumpler is an experienced criminal defense attorney with 20-years of experience. He has successfully won or otherwise gotten thousand of cases dismissed. He practices in Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bell, Comal, Bastrop, Burnet, and Lee counties. If you have a question about shock probation arising out an offense and a conviction that occurred in one of these counties, contact our offices today at 512-457-5200.

Austin Criminal Defense Attorney Jason Trumpler can also help if the State has charged you or someone you know with any other type of criminal offense, including, but not limited to: