Does Proposition 36 Prohibit Incarceration for Violation of Probation?
What happens when a defendant violates the provisions of probation under this initiative? In the event the defendant violates probation conditions, the Arizona initiative contains no limit on the number of times a court is required to modify the conditions of probation and expressly precludes the court from incarcerating the defendant. For example, after a defendant violated probation conditions twice, an Arizona court revoked probation and sentenced petitioner to a 2.5-year prison term. However, in State v. Thomas, the appellate court determined that the trial court was precluded from sentencing him to prison by A.R.S. ยง13-901.01, providing a violation of probation shall have new conditions of probation established by the court short of incarceration, enacted as part of Proposition 200. (State v. Thomas, 996 P.2d 113 [Ariz. App. Div. 2, 1999].) Proposition 36 seems to avoid this problem by expressly allowing incarceration if probation is revoked. (Guide at 67.) Is the Initiative appli
