Probation

“ If, in hamstringing protest groups, a trial judge is bound only by a five-year maximum probation period and the limits of his imagination in conceiving restrictive conditions, I would at least require that those on the receiving end be tried frist by a jury. ”

“ Agency B.—"I have seen very few individuals in the course of my experience who could not be brought to see the right viewpoint if they were intelligently approached, even though the probation officer had considerable to do with their arrest. It is in my opinion not altogether important what occurs before the man's arrest but how he is treated after he comes within the jurisdiction of the probation officials." ”

“ Increasingly common is the probation system, the essence of which is to suspend the sentence of the court upon certain conditions. The offender is placed in charge of a court officer who will stand in the relation of friend and guardian to him, in order to supervise his conduct and to attempt his reformation. ”

“ The avoidance of imprisonment at time of sentence was therefore the period to which the advocates of a Probation Act always directed their urgency. Probation was not sought to shorten the term. Probation is the attempted saving of a man who has taken one wrong step, and whom the judge thinks to be a brand who can be plucked from the burning at the time of the imposition of the sentence. The beginning of the service of the sentence in a criminal case ends the power of the court even in the same term to change it. ”

“ At any time within the probation period, the probationer may be arrested, either with or without warrant, and thereupon he 'shall forthwith be taken before the court.' Also, after the probation period has expired, but within the maximum period for which the defendant might originally have been sentenced, the court may issue a warrant and cause the defendant to be arrested and brought before it. 'Thereupon the court may revoke the probation or the suspension of sentence, and may impose any sentence which might originally have been imposed.' Id. ”

“ The purposes of probationary and parole oversight, as well as the duties of probation and parole officers, as has already been intimated, are substantially alike. Whether a person is on probation from a court, or on parole from an institution, the same kind of inquiries must be made from his relatives, friends, neighbors and employer in order to ascertain whether his conduct is satisfactory ”

“ In England, after the advocacy of the probation system by the Howard Association, an Act was passed in 1887 ``to permit the conditional Release of first Offenders in certain cases.'' This law combines probation with sureties for good conduct. Judgment is given, but sentence is not pronounced. The suspension is not granted to any one who has previously committed an offence, or whose first offence would be liable to a punishment exceeding two years' imprisonment. There is no probation officer, for supervision is replaced by personal or other sureties for good behaviour. ”

“ Such a leap from the definition of petty offenses in 18 U.S.C. § 1 to the provision for probation in 18 U.S.C. § 3651 ascribes to Congress a determination I am certain it did not make, and misconstrues the nature of the probation statute. The probationary scheme does not purport to set specific sentences for particular classes of crimes, thus evincing an 'objective indication' of the 'seriousness with which society regards the offense,' the standard we have used in determining when the right to jury trial attaches. ”

“ Probation is a system of tutelage under the supervision and control of the court which has jurisdiction over the convicted defendant, has the record of his conviction and sentence, the records and reports as to his compliance with the conditions of his probation, and the aid of the local probation officer, under whose supervision the defendant is placed. ”

“ While probation is a matter of grace, the probationer is entitled to fair treatment, and is not to be made the victim of whim or caprice.
Second. Applying these principles, it is apparent that the instant case has the peculiar feature that the probationer was actually serving a jail sentence while on probation with respect to another sentence. But, even in jail, he was subject to the conditions of the probation. ”

“ The considerations it involves are entirely apart from any re-examination of the merits of the litigation. Probation was designed 'to aid the rehabilitation of a penitent offender'; 'to take advantage of an opportunity for reformation which actual service of the suspended sentence might make less probable.' Thus probation cannot be demanded as a right. 'The defendant stands convicted; he faces punishment, and cannot insist on terms or strike a bargain.' Burns v. ”

“ Here was the ideal probation officer, whose feeling for his ward was something more than chilly professional solicitude; and splendidly did these men do their work. Many of them did more than show a passing interest in the offenders assigned to them. They often gave them employment and encouraged them by increasing their wages from time to time. It was a common thing for substantial business men to appear in court and offer employment to persons whom they wished placed on probation, agreeing at the same time to report regularly as to their subsequent conduct. ”

“ After judgment of guilt, the trial court is authorized 'to suspend the imposition or execution of sentence and to place the defendant upon probation * * *.' (Italics supplied.) By this language Congress conferred upon the court a choice between imposing sentence before probation is awarded or after probation is revoked. In the first instance the defendant would be sentenced in open court to imprisonment for a definite period; in the second, he would be informed in open court that the imposition of sentence was being postponed. ”

“ The results have been satisfactory beyond [Pg 263] expectation, showing an average of less than five per cent of men released on probation reverting to crime, against forty per cent of reversions after a term in a non-progressive penitentiary.
This adult probation law confers upon the judge not mandatory but discretionary power, and the character of the judge plays a part not less important than the character of the offender; the application of the law is primarily a relation of man to man; the unjust judge will be unjust still, the timid judge will avoid taking risks ”

“ Like the bills before Congress, the state probation acts were not uniform in their treatment of suspension of sentence.↑ Ibid., 105.↑ In 1940 administration of the probation system was transferred to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts under the provisions of an Act passed August 7, 1939. ”

“ In April, 1875, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the course of the Financial Statement, said: “We now appoint young men upon probation, and the understanding of that probationary employment is that if the person is found after six months or a year to be unfit, he is told that he must look elsewhere. ”

“ At present the offence more than the offender determines the sentence; and there is a greater likelihood of a person who has committed a petty offence being put on probation, than there would be if in the eye of the law the offence he had committed were regarded more seriously. ”

“ Placing petitioner upon probation did not affect the finality of the judgment. Probation is concerned with rehabilitation, not with the determination of guilt. It does not secure reconsideration of issues that have been determined or change the judgment that has been rendered. Probation or suspension of sentence 'comes as an act of grave to one convicted of a crime.' Escoe v. ”

“ The installation of the probation system, with its very accurate and detailed records of each case investigated by, or placed in charge of probation officers, has put many more facts at our disposal in regard to the family conditions, school and employment records, etc., of children receiving probationary treatment. ”

“ The Probation Act, therefore, provides a method by which a person who has offended against the law, instead of being punished by imprisonment or fine, or, in the case of a child, being sent for a prolonged period to a reformatory or an industrial school, may be brought under the direct personal influence of a man or woman chosen for excellence of character and for strength of personal influence ”

“ To further define these essentials, we need judges who will not discredit the system by extending probation to persons not likely to profit by it, and who will apply it wherever it can be done with due regard to the protection of the community, and where the past history and present disposition of the person investigated indicate that he may reasonably be expected to reform without punishment. And we need probation officers who possess not only sympathy and zeal, but knowledge of human nature, tact, firmness and patience. ”

“ Petitioner declared that he twice initiated investigation of the legality of his sentence. The probation officer obviously checked with someone long before petitioner was brought to court for what is now called his 'first' sentence. We cannot simply assume that the facts did not come to the attention of any responsible person. ”

“ Persons interested in the extension and improvement of probation, and those interested in the development of parole, have been so much occupied in establishing and strengthening the one system or the other, that they have not taken time to be sufficiently concerned about the desirable relationship between the two systems. The probation system in most places has developed, under permissive legislation, more or less sporadically, as a local experiment or expedient. ”

“ Were each court of a town, village or small city to have its own probation officer, the officers as a rule would be without enough cases to occupy their time, and they would be underpaid and inexperienced. ”

“ The methodology of probation is still in the experimental stage. More important than the extension of the system is the building up of an effective technique. In too many places probation is still synonymous either with sentimental leniency or with perfunctory police surveillance. The most essential factors in probation work are the educative, reformatory and reconstructive work represented by home visitation, the development of right mental habits and the rendering of practical assistance. ”

“ How shall we secure such judges and officers? The active friends of probation can influence public opinion in the election or appointment of persons able and willing to consider probation on its merits. It is such a human problem that it is difficult to conceive of a man otherwise fitted for judicial position who will not apply probation with intelligent sympathy when its possibilities are called to his attention. ”

“ From a social point of view, the latter is more important than the former; for a bad decision of the court can be mitigated by good case work later on, while a poor probation officer may nullify the effects of the wisest judicial decision ever made. ”

“ Where a criminal suspect takes a plea, the people's procuratorate shall put forward sentencing advice including the principal punishment, supplementary punishments and whether or not a probation should be granted, and shall transfer the materials such as the statement of plea along with the case. ”

“ Make me to see’t, or at the least so prove it, That the probation bear no hinge nor loop To hang a doubt on, or woe upon thy life! ”

“ The record before us indicates that the judge exercised his discretion to deprive a man of his life, in reliance on material made available to him in a probation report, consisting almost entirely of evidence that would have been inadmissible at the trial. ”

“ In paragraph 3 (1) (b) (remuneration, allowances and expenses of probation officers) , for “prescribed” substitute “determined by the Secretary of State under paragraph 18A below”.
(3) In paragraph 9 (selection of probation officer for probationer) , omit the words from “or if” to “place” (which provide for the selected officer to be changed at the instance of the case committee) .
(4) In paragraph 18 (1) (b) (power to make rules prescribing conditions of service etc. of probation officers and others) omit “conditions of service”. ”

“ The two essentials of success in probation work are:—judges who have an intelligent and sympathetic interest in the problem, and probation officers fitted by temperament and training to secure the best possible results. ”

“ The probation officer is present at the judge’s side when he decides a case, and is given charge of the offender, whom he takes by the hand, either at his parent’s residence or at school, and continually supervises, having power if necessary to bring him again before the judge. ”

“ Due process of law includes at least the idea that a person accused of crime shall be accorded a fair hearing through all the stages of the proceedings against him. I agree with the Court as to the value and humaneness of liberal use of probation reports as developed by modern penologists, but, in a capital case, against the unanimous recommendation of a jury, where the report would concededly not have been admissible at the trial, and was not subject to examination by the defendant, I am forced to conclude that the high commands of due process were not obeyed. ”

“ Not only is protection needed from the dogmatic assaults of our neighbors, but also from our own premature ideas. There are opinions which we are willing to receive on probation, but these probationers must be taught by judicious snubbing to know their place. ”

“ As a part of the probation plan the court requires every person charged with any offense involving the loss or damage to property and injuries to the person to make full and complete restitution to the injured party before the final disposition of the case. ”