An en banc panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued a landmark decision regarding a trial court’s authority to revoke probation. The Court interpreted 42 Pa.C.S. § 9721 and § 9754 to forbid the common practice of anticipatorily revoking a defendant’s probation before it begins. Here, the defendant was on county parole when he was convicted of a new crime. The back judge revoked his parole and probation that was set to commence once the defendant completed his parole. The Court vacated and held that the defendant could not have violated the terms of his probation, as it had yet to commence.
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