When facing the prospect of jail time for a criminal charge, the idea of probation can seem like a walk in the park. Don't make this mistake. Sure, you're avoiding confinement, but this may only be temporary if you aren't taking the requirements of probation seriously. Make sure you know what type of guidelines you could be up against.
There Are Costs Involved
In many instances, you are required to pay for the cost of your probation supervision. This payment is non-negotiable. While failure to pay the fees cannot legally be considered a violation that sends you back to jail – there are still penalties. When you fail to pay, the probation authority has the legal right to file a civil judgment against you. I
if the judgment goes in their favor, they can initiate a wage garnishment against you. If you're having trouble paying your supervision fees, it's important to speak up right away to see if there is a payment plan or other special consideration that can be made.
Take Travel Boundaries Seriously
As part of probation, you are often restricted when it comes to how far you can travel away from home. Understand that this is a serious requirement and a violation is violation – there are often no exceptions. For instance, if you have a sick relative, hopping in the car and heading away might seem like an innocent thing to do, but in the eyes of the law this is not the case.
When you are faced with an emergency situation it's much better to contact your supervising officer to see if you can get a special exception instead of just taking the trip anyway.
The Company You Keep Is Important
As a child, you were probably told that hanging with the wrong crowd is a bad idea, but when you're on probation, hanging with the wrong people could lead you straight to jail. For some criminal charges, such as those associated with gang activity, simply being in the company or associating with members from your old gang could be a violation of your probation.
This is the case even if you aren't committing any crime and simply socializing in your eyes. Probation is given as a way to extend you somewhat of a second chance so don't mess it up by simply hanging around the wrong people.
Recognize that probation is a serious consequence. Your attorney, such as from Lowry Law Firm, will go over the parameters of your probation line-by-line to ensure you understand them.
Share3 June 2017
Adopting a child is a wonderful way to bring a child into your family and give a child that needs a home a loving environment to grow up in. Unfortunately, the adoption process is not easy to get through. If you fail to file one document, the adoption can be set back by months. This blog will show you what to expect as you work your way thorough the adoption process and give you a few ideas of the things that you should leave up to your family attorney. Hopefully, what I have learned through my two adoptions will help you get through yours with no issues.
