Results 1 to 6 of 6

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    3

    Angry Probation Violation Hearing for Restitution

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: California (Santa Clara County)

    I have been on felony probation since March of 2005. I was convicted of felony assault with a deadly weapon with intenet to cause great bodily injury. I was innocent of the crime, took it to trial, lost and was charged. I was sentenced to 1 year in county jail, 5 years of supervised probation, 5 year suspended sentence, anger managment, community service and $74,000 in restituion fines. I have been in compliance with my probation for 4 years and 9 months and have never violated. I received a letter saying Im due in court on January 28 of this year for "failure to pay fines". I have been on monthlly payments for restituion paying, $200 monthly but still owe $68,000 in fines. There have been some times where I couldn't pay, but always followed thru and paid the following month. I have been working minimum wage for the last 3 years, am a single father, and going to school to earn a degree as a pharmacy technician. Due to me being a "felon" it has been impossible for me to find a good, high paying job, so I turned to higher education with hopes of making better money to pay off this fine. I am scheduled to be off probation in March of this year.

    What will happen at the probation violation hearing on January 28th? Will the 5 year suspended sentence be brought back into play? Will they take me into custody on that day? Will I be able to plead my case? What can I do to avoid jail/prison? I have been doing all I can to try and pay this bill and am still currently working on it. What are the chances of them extending my probation to give me more time to pay off this fine? I have never had any problems on probation and I am a law abiding citizen. Just stuck in a financial "rut". I'm not a criminal, just workingm going to school and raising my daughter. What can I do? Please help me. Thank You and God Bless.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    20,594

    Default Re: Probation Violation Hearing for Restituion

    Quote Quoting Junior123
    View Post
    What will happen at the probation violation hearing on January 28th?
    No one can answer that question with any degree of certainty.

    Will the 5 year suspended sentence be brought back into play? Will they take me into custody on that day?
    Both are possibilities, though I would think it unlikely simply for failure to pay restitution in a timely manner.

    Will I be able to plead my case? What can I do to avoid jail/prison?
    Short of complying with the full terms of your sentence, there is nothign you can do to guarantee staying out of jail.

    I have been doing all I can to try and pay this bill and am still currently working on it. What are the chances of them extending my probation to give me more time to pay off this fine?
    The fines will be different from restitution. You were not required to pay $74,000 in fines (unless you had a lot of serious felonies you were convicted of), so most of that was restitution. I cannot recall for certain, but I do not believe they can hold you on probation just for failing to pay restitution. But, I believe they can hold you if you have failed to pay the fines to the court. You should probably consult an attorney on this. If you had a public defender, perhaps that attorney or office can help you out now.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Probation Violation Hearing for Restituion

    Thank You for all your replies.

    Will they take into consideration that I'm a single father, working AND going to school? it's not like Im some low life criminal that doing nothing about the situation. I am handling business, it's just taking a little longer than expected.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    20,594

    Default Re: Probation Violation Hearing for Restituion

    Quote Quoting Junior123
    View Post
    Thank You for all your replies.

    Will they take into consideration that I'm a single father, working AND going to school? it's not like Im some low life criminal that doing nothing about the situation. I am handling business, it's just taking a little longer than expected.
    They might take anything into consideration. Good faith and evidence of a true effort might go a long way. if they think you've been slacking, then you may be in trouble.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Probation Violation Hearing for Restituion

    Thank You for help CDWJAVA. I will be preparing a bunch of paperworks such as tax statements (to show them I havent been making much money) . Certificates of my schooling, my daughters birth certificate (to prove i am supporting a child as well), proof that I got denied to be on welfare, and proof of financial aid for my schooling to earn a degree in pharmacy tech. I am hoping for them to extend my probation to give me more time to pay off fines and fees.

    DID I FORGET TO MENTION THAT I HAVE $68,000 REMINAING LEFT ON MY RESTITUTION BILL

  6. #6

    Default Re: Probation Violation Hearing for Restituion

    I did felony probation for five years. My restitution was over $100,000. During that time it was just about impossible to find employment to pay the fine. I completed probation with an honorable discharge. I was taken to court for violation for failure to pay restitution as well. It was at almost the end of my probation. I had 8 months left. I too was a single parent of two kids. The judge told me to pay $100 per month toward the restitution, and did not violate me. At the end of the five years they had my co-defendent sign a paper so that she could be sued in civil court for the remainder of the money. They wanted me to sign too, but I did not. They wanted to extend the probation too, but max length is five years, so there was no extention either. I have been off probation for 7 yrs now, and only paid a total (between co-defendent and myself) of about $2000.00 toward the restitution.

    My guess is you will be fine.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Probation and Parole: Restitution and Violation of Probation
    By sreport88 in forum Probation, Parole and Incarceration
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 03-03-2010, 08:40 PM
  2. Probation and Parole: Probation Violation and Restitution
    By rosepenny in forum Probation, Parole and Incarceration
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 11-02-2007, 08:13 AM
  3. Probation and Parole: Probation Violation Due to Unpaid Restitution
    By diggs in forum Probation, Parole and Incarceration
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-01-2007, 07:21 AM
  4. Probation and Parole: Violation of Probation For Not Paying Restitution
    By laaustin34 in forum Probation, Parole and Incarceration
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-28-2007, 02:22 PM
  5. Probation and Parole: Failure to Pay Restitution And Probation Violation
    By alexrose in forum Probation, Parole and Incarceration
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-07-2006, 11:38 AM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources