My 23 year old son was on probation for possession of Marijuana. He failed a drug test in July of 07. In Aug of 07 he was told to seek out a Drug treatment professional for an evaluation. According to the violation of probation statement he received today, he is in violation of probation because although he has told his PO he went to the counsellor, no paperwork has been received. He also stated to the PO that he was not smoking the weed in July, he was in the car with friends that were. The recommendation is that he has not delt well with probation and that jail time is warranted. I was wondering how much jail time could he get. I believe he started probation in Jan of 07 and it was for a year. The first problem he had was in July, does that mean he could be in for 5 months in jail?? We live in New Jersey.
Thanks in advance for any info you can give me.

Hello parent:

It might mean that or it might not. It's up to the judge. If it was me, I'd like to have someone in court to counter that jerk of a probation officer. That person would be a lawyer.

excon

First of all, telling his probation officer that he didn't smoke weed but was only in a confined area while others did smoke it is considered, by most probation officers, a flat out lie.
Second, if he did go seek a drug evaluation, five months should have been plenty of time to receive it. Sounds like another mistruth.
I would have to agree that your son is not a good candidate for probation.
The judge can give him all or part of the original sentence minus the time, if any, that he has already served. The judge may also reinstate part or all of the suspended fines and or sentence.

When your son was originally sentenced the Judge probably said something like "1 year jail time" and in lieu of jail time "1 year probation".

Did your son actually get the evaluation? Has he called to see just what happened to the paperwork?

Also the excuse of being in a car while other people were smoking pot was dumb. He just essentially made an idiot out of himself with that statement. You do not fail a drug test from inhaling second hand smoke. Sorry, not a good excuse. Actually there is no excuse I can think of for that except, yes, I smoked it and yes, you caught me.

You will just have to wait until the judge hears everyone at the probation violation hearing and he says what the sentence is. It is all up to what he decides. I don't think anyone can second guess it either.

I agree, the excuse for the positive test was stupid. He tells me he did have the eval and has been trying to get in touch with the specialist to have the paperwork forwarded. His original PO was in Seacaucus then moved to Elizabeth so I can see maybe how the paperwork got lost, but if it were me, I'd do anything I could to rectify the situation, I just don't see him doing that. He is very closed mouthed and may be trying to make this right, but I just don't know. This is the second time he has been in trouble and I'm not adverse to thinking some jail time might make him realize all he does have and to appreciate it more. Not even sure at this point if he plans to go to court with a lawyer, he just won't talk about it.
Thanks for your responses.

Well, frantic at least you're being reasonable and have a good dose of reality here. I'm siding with you however. He's not interested or he would have gotten in the car and drove there and got the paperwork in his hot little hand - it's not that far. I was thinking that he had moved maybe to a different state or far away.

If he does not go to court with an attorney for the hearing the judge should assign him a public defender if he had one previously if he wants one. And if he doesn't go to court at all... oh well. He'll find out right quick that the judge doesn't play.

First your PO does not care, many don't, they want "I's" dotted and "T" crossed on their paper work,

He needs a paper that says counseling done, he needs drug tests passed.
And even I don't believe he did not use, so no PO or judge is going to believe it.

And Couselors have secretaries that send out paper work even by fax if need be. So if it was done, the PO could get the info in a few hours, so going and complete is sometimes two different things??

But if it took driving there and getting a copy that is what he had to do.
As for as being with a bunch of drug users, guess what got him into this to start with?

It sounds like he has not learned anything and is still running with the wrong crowd.

He can get up to his original sentence, but most likely they will only do a month or two ( my guess)

I have found out that he did not get the eval. Two places he called wanted 1000.00 and then 1500.00 for the eval. He has no health insurance. I know he must pay for his mistakes.
At 17 he had an episode where I found him sitting behind his bedroom door hitting his head on the wall. He told me at that time he didn't want to live any longer. I took him for a psych eval at a nearby Hospital. They released him and I took him to a psychiatrist who diagnosed him as Bi-Polar depressive. He was on meds for a short time, Zyprexa and Lithium, but stopped taking them because he was in a fog and sleeping all the time.
I am sure his pot use makes him feel better.
Will I make it worse for him if I call his PO and tell her his history?? This is the most depressed (rightly so with looking at jailtime) I have seen him in 5 years, he has really been functioning very well before this, working 3 to 4 days per week, with minimal mood swings.
I know he would kill me if he found out, but he is not watching out for himself, yet I know Mom and Dad should not bail him out of trouble again (this is the 3rd time)
I know he needs to step up and admit his failures and pay for them, I just want to make sure he will be safe and not become a danger to himself IF he has to do jail time.
He is not planning to go to court with a lawyer because he can't pay for it.
I just need to know if I will make things worse or better for him if I contact his Po and just tell her about his history.
Needing some advise.
Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by franticparent

I just need to know if I will make things worse or better for him if I contact his Po and just tell her about his history.
Needing some advise.

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Hello again, frantic:

You WILL make things worse for him. The PO is NOT your friend. He's NOT there to help your son. He's there to supervise him.

He's also there to advance his own career. People who get ahead in that system BUST a lot of people. That's how they keep track of who's doing a good job. Nope, THAT guy is the LAST one you want to tell.

If your son needs help, have him seek somebody out who is there to help. The PO is a COP.

excon

PS> (edited) Ok, her.

My 23 year old son read in the Georgia hunting regulations booklet that a convicted felon could deer hunt with a compound bow . He is now in the floyd county jail charged with possession of a compound bow by a convicted felon. Is this a legal charge?

In the state of Georgia can a convicted felon deer hunt with a compound bow?

In the state of Georgia can a convicted felon deer hunt with a compound bow?