What is the difference between a probation revocation hearing and a criminal trial?

Furthermore, the substantive and procedural functions of a probation violation hearing are fundamentally different from those of a criminal trial. ⁵ While the hearing takes the form of a trial in some ways for the protection of the probationer's own due process rights, (In re Coughlin (1976) 16 Cal.3d 52, 61, 127 Cal.Rptr. 337, 545 P.2d 249), it does not rise to the level of a criminal proceeding. (Chamblin v. Municipal Court, supra, 130 Cal.App.3d at 120, 181 Cal.Rptr. 636.) Further, "the role of a judge in considering the question of whether a convicted offender's probation should be revoked ... is not determining whether the defendant is guilty or innocent of a crime. Rather, he must determine whether the convicted offender 'can be safely allowed to return to and remain in society.' " (People v. Hayko (1970) 7 Cal.App.3d 604, 610, 86 Cal.Rptr. 726.) In Chamblin v. Municipal Court, supra, 130 Cal.App.3d 115, 181 Cal.Rptr. 636, the court specifically held that a trial court's finding at a probation revocation hearing that defendant had not violated a law would not collaterally estop a subsequent

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