probation revocation

[american girl]

the case has until 6/22 before it expires. i was given 100 hrs of community sevice to perform. i have 29 hrs remaining. probation officer wants to revoke probation because he
"is tired of bending over backwards to help me". i am a single mother, work fulltime at local hospital and i take care of physically ill mother and mentally ill brother. i do community service as often as i can and it is not impossible for me to finish it before the case expires. can the probation officer do this to me?

 

[lawrat]

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

Probation officers are the keepers of the released criminals. Now, you were released and must complete 100 hours of community service. Not a whole lot in the grand scale of criminal fault and bad crimes. Okay, probation officers cannot just arbitrarily revoke this kind of sentence agreement, especially if you have been diligently working at completing it, with all of your family and work responsibilities.

BUT, fighting probation officers (even when you are in the right and they are just being discriminatory) can be a he said/she said type of fight. Whose word is most likely going to be believed?

To curb this, before he does indeed revoke it all, I suggest you immediately contact one or both of the following:

1. Criminal defense attorney (many provide free consultations) at attorneypages.com.

2. Contact your local public defender's office and speak to a public defender or someone who can directly help you. DO NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. YOU HAVE RIGHTS, USE THEM.


Hope this helps.

 

[Tracey]

Excellent advice lawrat. When do you hear about the bar?

AG, in order to revoke your probation, the parole officer will have to note up a hearing in front of a judge. The judge can refuse to revoke probation. Prepare now for that hearing. Gather all your documentation of the comm. serv. hours you have worked, the hours you've worked at your job, and the hours you've spent taking care of your mother and brother. Don't whine and make excuses; just explain that your unique circumstances mean that you will need the entire year to perform you CS. If you don't have documentation, start trying to reconstruct it now. Organize this information into a nice, neat chart. (Judges have very little time and well-organized information is very persuasive.)

A friend of mine got dragged into court by a probation officer trying to revoke her probation. She defended by asking the judge to terminate her probation! She presented a chart that listed each requirement of her probation, and the date on which she completed each item. Then she told the judge that she could pay the court fine much faster if she didn't have to pay $30/month for supervision. The judge terminated her probation on the spot, leaving the probation officer standing in court with her jaw open.

In your case, you will also need to be able to show a reasonable plan for completing your hours before 6/22. Be sure to leave some extra time in case you hit some snags. The court gave you until 6/22 to finish the hours. If you can show that you'll have no trouble doing so, the court shouldn't revoke you. After all, if it does, the state will just have to pay $80/day to keep you in jail.


Good luck.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.