History of Probation
In the United States, this practice was illustrated, in 1841, when a shopkeeper persuaded a judge to allow him custody of a man convicted of public drunkenness. This was to give him time to show that the defendant could be rehabilitated by the date of his sentencing. Even in earlier times, the practice of suspending a sentence was used in 1830 and began to spread throughout the court system. In 1878, however, the ironically named “Captain Savage” (a former police officer) was appointed as the first official U.S. probation officer.

National Probation Act of 1925
In 1916, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Federal judge did not have the power to indefinitely suspend a sentence. This eventually allowed for the National Probation Act of 1925 which gave the courts power to impose probation in lieu of penal incarceration.

State Wide Probation System
The first state-wide probation system, however, was instituted in 1880 and by 1920, 21 other states had adopted similar policies. But with the passage of the 1925 National Probation Act, the practice became nation-wide. In 1936, the Crime Control and Consent Act was instituted by 25 states and allowed for the supervision of offenders, under their rules of probation, to be conducted in state other than the original jurisdiction where the sentence was handed down. By 1951, all states in the U.S. had a working probation system in place and the Interstate Compact Agreement was ratified. By 1959, that agreement was ratified by Alaska, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well.

Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

Probation can be an effective legal tool, when used properly by the courts. To know more about your legal rights, as a defendant, contact Attorney Gary R. Jodat, serving clients in Sarasota, Florida.