prison this time?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
virginia

I was charged back in 2002 for forgery, fraud, uttering, false pretenses, and multiple bad checks. I served 8 months jail time and had 9 years suspended. I was given 5 years probation with $6000 in restitution and court costs(which was more than enough time).
6 years, today, I have $3000 left on fines, and because they were not paid on time I have violated probation. Other than that I have not committed any other crimes or violated in any other manner. when I go before the judge, what would be the chances of jail time( 9 1/2 yrs suspended), given I am a single mother with 2 boys, I am in college, and I have a job.

Two possibilities here:

Extension of probation, to give you time to pay the remaining fines/fees. Expect to have to pay additional monthly probation fees for the term of the extension, if it is granted.

9 1/2 years in prison. Courts do not view failure to pay, over the time you stated you have had in which to pay it, very good at all. The Court very well may say that if you couldn't get it done in the time that has already been given you, there's no need to think you could get it done with an extension.

Good luck to you.

If your probation period expired, the court has lost jurisdiction over you and can no longer sentence you on that crime.

Who set the court hearing date ?

When did/will your 5 years of probation expire ?

Did the court ever have a revocation hearing and re-impose probation, or did the Court ever extend probation.

Sinner, I believe you will avoid further punishment.
Check your probation paperwork and calculate the day probation expires/expired.

reply to sin eater

my probation was due to be completed on may 31, 2008. (which is why i have technically violated) because the $3000 in fines were still unpaid by the end of my probation period i am due to go to court for the violation.

monimon said:

my probation was due to be completed on may 31, 2008.

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This is a first for me to see a Probation Department take action for violations after the termination date of the probation.

You didn't receive anything from the Court or the PD before May 31, advising you that you that you were in violation, and that your probation would continue, or that you would be facing further legal action?

reply to oldandtired

Yes, I was told by may 31, that I would be violated for the fines not being paid in time...which was the requirement of my probation.

My apologies, I should have asked if you received anything in writing that the PD was going to approach the Court with revocation proceedings based on the failure to pay.

If you were simply "told", there's no way to prove you received the message.

Now we all know that you were liable for the payments. I'm not trying to get around that. I am having issue with them waiting 5 months past the termination date to even take action at all.

I don't see where the Court would have jurisdiction under a criminal standpoint now, if no action was taken prior to the expiration of your probation. I'm certain that there are attorney's that will talk to you free of charge regarding this. You should be on the phone now searching for one. I cannot answer this with 100% certainty.

If there were no documents, then it appears that the Probation Officer failed to monitor this correctly. You should have received something from the PD approximately 6 months prior to the expiration date that you were in violation, and that something would be submitted to the Court regarding Violation of Conditions and Imposition of Sentence.

ok, you definitely got me thinking now...there was no talk of a violation until May and that was from my probation officer. maybe that was because i still had some days to get it paid in full? on May 31, when my probation was to be completed I was given a court date in july for the violation (unpaid fines) but that was only to recieve an attorney. so technically i still had time from july until now to continue to pay (which i had) since, it is not paid still... i feel the court will send me to jail...i can talk about all the reasons why i couldn't pay but the court doesn't care, they just want their money, which is understandable.

monimon said:

I was given a court date in july for the violation (unpaid fines)

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After-the-fact. This should have all been done before the expiration of the probation.

ok, i can see if this will matter to the court, but in all honesty i knew in May this wasn't paid, and in July it wasn't paid, so it basically boils down to if it is wise to give me an extension of probation to pay this. 9 1/2 yrs will obviously not allow me to pay..

They cannot extend what has already expired. This is why action on this had to be prior to the expiration.

even if i have been seeing a probation officer after may 31? i have been reporting to one to show proof that i am still paying on this.

You should check to see if your probation has been extended. You cannot be reporting to a P.O. if you have no probation left in which to report for. Don't get irritable with the P.O. about this. They might be doing you a favor by allowing you to just continue to pay on it without extending you or revoking you.

But definitely find out what is going on.