Can Probation be Transferred to Another State?
May 30th, 2011
Colorado has adopted the Interstate Compact for Adult Supervision and the Interstate Compact for Juveniles. This agreement among a number of U.S. states allows for certain individuals convicted of crimes to transfer their probation to a different state. The basic process is that your Colorado probation officer must agree to you moving, and the state to which you wish to move must accept you for transfer.
The question I get asked most frequently is – can i transfer? The answer is maybe, so long as you’re eligible. A misdemeanor offender is eligible for transfer when his/her sentence includes one year or more of supervision, and the offense for which he or she seeks transfer includes one or more of the following— an offense in which a person has incurred direct or threatened physical or psychological harm; an offense that involves the use or possession of a firearm; a second or subsequent misdemeanor offense of driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol; or, a sexual offense that requires the offender to register as a sex offender. A person who is released from incarceration under a work release program is not eligible for transfer under the compact.
Additionally, an individual seeking transfer must have more than 90 days or an indefinite period of supervision remaining at the time he submits the transfer request, and be in substantial compliance with the terms of supervision in the sending state. He must also be a resident of the state he is trying to move to, or have resident family in that state and an ability to seek and obtain employment there.
As a criminal defense attorney, I often get asked whether a Judge can simply sentence an individual to probation in another state – and the answer is, simply, no. However, in certain situations a Judge may be willing to let you complete what is called “bench probation”, which is essentially an unsupervised probationary term allowing you to be on probation on a Colorado case while not physically being in Colorado.
For more information about the author, you can visit Denver Defense Lawyer Kimberly Diego‘s website.
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