I have heard that I can get my monthly probation payment lowered. I pay $114.00 a month.(includes court fees). I do not have a job, my parents are helping me. I have heard from some people that I can get this payment reduced due to not having any income.. (including unemployment or welfare) If this IS possible please advise me on how I can do this. Thanks so much.. :)

Hello d:

The court ordered you to pay, so only the court can rescind the order. You don't need to do anything fancy, though. Just write the judge a letter explaining what you said, and why you need it. Ask the judge to consider your letter to be a motion. Send your letter certified, and send a copy to the prosecutor.

excon

If you somehow do get this payment reduced you will have to ask for more probation time in which to complete your fine or restitution that was Court Ordered by the Judge. You may opt to serve your time in jail in lieu of paying your fine. This may not work in the case of a restitution payment though. You need to talk this over with your probation officer and see what sort of options are available to you. Your PO may not care if you have no income as a $114 a month is about $28 a week. Can't your folks afford $28 a week to keep you out of jail?

How long is your probation and how much of it have you completed so far?

To EXCON and twinkiedooter.. thanks for answering me back, much appreciated. I had to do 5 year tour inside and 10 out, which is over Sept 2018. So I have a year and a half already. (Excon... ) Do I have to go to the same judge that sentenced me? It is in another part of the state. I do know that after half of my probation is over, I can talk to the judge. Someone just told me this morning about what you have said.. about a motion. Sounds like a great idea. (Twinkiedooter... ) my parents have no problems with helping me pay it... I love them dearly for that. I should be grateful that's all Im paying.
Thank you both so very much for your help and I will keep you posted to what goes on.
**I didn't drink the kool-aid either!! ** :)

It's nice to talk to those who have... "been there..done that..have the T-shirt" :)

Hello again, d:

I'd try the same judge. If it's not him, the court clerk should write back and tell you.

excon

It is a matter of talking to the court clerk, talking to your PO and asking. Some locations, or judges may have a min they think anyone should be able to afford. They may also require you to look for work, ( assume you are)

I'm not saying that this is true everywhere, but the few states that I've been on probation/parole in have had the same regulations regarding payments. Court obligations/restitution/fines/blah blah blah don't have to be paid each month as long as they are paid in full by the time you get off probation. I'm not saying don't pay anything towards them each month, but the number your PO gives you for your monthly court obligation payments is just the total obligation divided by the amount of time that you are on probation/parole (ex. $1000 total court obligations, 10 months probation... $100 a month). Your supervision fees on the other hand SHOULD be paid in full every month. That's the payment that pisses POs off when you ignore it.

Again, I'm not sure this is the same everywhere... Supervision fees are based on a payment schedule. You pay a set amount depending on how much income you make. This schedule is rarely followed. Probation officers try to milk probationers for every penny they can get. You have no job, so you should be in the lowest payment bracket. EVERY time I've been on probation/parole I've been placed at least one bracket above where I should be. This is easy to remedy, and if you've already been paying MORE than you should then you get credited for the months you've already overpaid. Ask your PO for the rules and regulations, this payment schedule is laid out very clearly in this handbook. You will also find information about what would make you eligible to be EXEMPT from payments for certain months (full time school, unemployment, non-huber incarceration, etc.).

This is NOT legal advice and I make no claims at being an expert. The information I provide is from personal experience and may or may not yield similar results in your case.