I have court tomorrow and I was supposed to be paying $75 a month in restitution. Im currently unemployed, with no form of income and have fell behind in my payments. I was suppose to have paid a total of 525 by tomorrow. Im making a payment of 400 tomorrow before court, should I be o.k. or should I be worried about some jail time? Im in Fairfax, VA area.

Hello A:

You should be OK... They key to staying out of trouble here, is to make your best effort to pay, and to document EVERYTHING. In your case, you'd have been better off paying the $400 over time.. If it can be shown that you HAD the money, but just didn't bother to pay, you COULD be violated. And, they WILL try to show that.

excon

Did you ask your PO a while back to have your probation extended so you could pay off your restitution? If not, then you could be spending some time in jail. It all depends on the judge in this matter even if you do pay the $400 now. Get your court receipt to show the judge how much you paid tomorrow and hope he has a heart.

So, I had court yesterday... which was for report and review in regards to my probation and restitution payments. My payments for restitution are update but my PO came to court with a letter that she had given to the judge. The letter stated that I've missed 2 appointments, gave a dirty urine, and have caught a new misdemeanor charge in another state. My public defender was able to continue my case until January 27, 2012 due to this being our first knwoledge of this letter from my PO. Before leaving the court the judge explain to me that I needed to show some extensive improvement before my next court date on January 27, 2012 or I could be facing some jail time that he has not granted me with.

After leaving the court room, my PO pulled me to the side and stated tha she wanted me to come to her office to speak with her inregards to what is going on. When I met with her, she stated that her goal is to not put me in jail considering that she believes that Im a good person and have 2 kids and one on the way right now. Im currently four months pregnant and having some complications thus far. She signed me up for ADS class which starts on Monday December, 5 for my dirty urine. She has schedueled me 2 appointments before my court date, which usually I would have only had to see her once. This is to show my improvement on showing up for my appointments. As far as my charge in North Carolina, she said she was going to call to the courts to see the extent of my charge and what took place at court. I told her that I pled guilty to the charge and that I was given a fine to pay. I asked her if I had been violated as of now and she stated not as of yet.

What should I be expecting on my court date on Jnauary 27, 2012 if I follow all instructions my PO gives me from now till then?

If I do get hit with a violation, is required to give me a probation vioalation hearing first?

After everything is all said and done to avoid jail time, is it possible to ask for house arrest or another form of punishment due to me being pregnant?

Your PO said you're a good person and she doesn't want to put you in jail? That's not her decision. It's the Judge's decision. She can ONLY make a recommendation which the Judge can or cannot follow.

If the Judge said you would get a break if you follow all of the requirements I would guess that means you'll be on strict probation but you will not be in jail.

You have a hearing scheduled to discuss whether your behavior improves. I see no point in a hearing if you are found in violation. That will be addressed in Court.

Pregnancy and other children will not keep you out of jail. I don't know what the arrangements are for your children but I would make some tentative plans so they don't get placed in foster care - if you are a single parent. Mothers and pregnant women are jailed all the time. It's not a "get out of jail free" card.

If you are pregnant and using I wouldn't be surprised if the Judge takes offense and puts you in jail just to keep your unborn baby safe. I've seen it happen.

When you violated in another State did you report it to your PO? Not reporting is almost worse than violating - but I'm sure you've been told that.

Why are you on probation in the first place?

This would be easier to answer accurately if the whole story were posted. Should be combined with the other thread.

The situation is not exactly as it appears.

There's also a dirty urine and second arrest since the PO was placed on probation.

The issue here, and you have the strangest PO I have ever seen. Is that first your PO found out about your other charges without you telling them, 99 out of 100 PO would have you locked up at once just for not telling them. That is how the system works, you have in my opinion pulled something over on them perhaps being a mother.

But a dirty UA, another crime, and missing appointments is not showing the court you are a good person in my book, To me it shows someone that has no respect of the legal system and most likely that is going to be the judges opinion. You will need to stay clean and perfect for the rest of your PO if you go back before that judge

I there with you brother.
.. was told you have to pay this restitution no matter what.. or they can put you back in prison... now here in Canada the get tough on crime act has really made things tough for offenders. However they will not normally lock up no violent criminals... if you where a violent offender pay something per month.. show some effort.. just because your poor and starving, homeless, sick or whatever... they still want to see an attempt to pay.. ignoring it will hurt you in the long run.