When can someone get off of probation if they have already paid their Department of Revenue fines?
27.October, 2009
My boyfriend is on probation for felony charges. He is almost done paying his fees, and has had perfect visitations with the probation officers. He is elligible to have it reduced to a misdeameanor. The problem is, he just got transferred to a NEW officer who is very unhelpful and rude. She will not give him a straight answer. My questions are:
1.) Once his fees are paid in June, is he elligible to have the crime reduced to a misdeameanor?
2.) We have contacted his attorney several times in the last month to get answers to these questions and have not got ONE returned call. What should we do?!
I appreciate any and all wisdom.
1) He’s not necessarily eligible to have his charge reduced to a misdemeanor in June when he pays his fees… Nothing is owed to him, and when the time comes, he’ll need to petition the Court for an early release and a reduction in charges… In my county, the judge often sets a minimum time–usually about halfway through probation–as the first time that the Court will consider a petition to terminate probation early and/or reduce the offense to a misdemeanor… Contrary to popular belief, fee payment is not the only determination as to whether a person gets terminated early or gets a sentence reduction… In fact, it’s nowhere near the most important factor… His general performance on probation and whether or not his PO thinks he is a low risk to reoffend is the most important component…
2) Hire a new attorney…
There may be a number of factors contributing to your opinion of his PO… One may be that she is, indeed, rude and not very helpful… Sadly, some PO’s–often the new ones, or the burned-out ones–are like that… Good PO’s don’t like ineffective PO’s any more than probationers do…
But I also offer you a different possibility to ponder: She isn’t familiar with your boyfriend, and she needs time to make her own assessment of his progress… She doesn’t want to commit in January to something that he wants in June, when she doesn’t know how he’s going to perform on probation for the next six months… I have taken over several different caseloads in my career, and it’s usually a challenging transition, both for the PO and for the probationer… Neither knows what to expect from each other, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, "My old PO told me that I could………" when it wasn’t true… Sometimes it’s true, but many times, it’s not…
My advice is to just relax… Let time take its course… If your boyfriend continues to stay out of trouble and comply with his conditions of probation, you may be pleasantly surprised by his PO’s change in disposition as she becomes more familiar with him and learns first-hand that he’s not one of the many who are lying to her and trying to manipulate her…
If, in six months, the problems remain, your boyfriend can contact his PO’s supervisor and see if there are any constructive solutions available…
27.October, 2009 um 7:54 pm
He will get off probation when he has finished the time the judge gave him.
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27.October, 2009 um 8:10 pm
Depends on what he did
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27.October, 2009 um 8:30 pm
2/3 of the time sentenced is the norm. Probaly have to have the lawyers help though.
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27.October, 2009 um 8:53 pm
Just tell your bf to apply for an early discharge from probation……Do it with someone else in the probation office like let me see a clerk, or someone that does administrative duties….
If this doesn’t work, tell your boyfriend to ask his probation officer for an application for early release…….They should have these type of application…….Now since I don’t know what your state laws are you guys need to do your homework and find out "what are the requirements for early release".
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27.October, 2009 um 9:34 pm
No he doesn’t have the RIGHT to have it lowered to a misdemeanor; and they can keep him on probation for a very long time….he maybe eligible to have it reduced…but, there are no guarantees that this will happen considering the new probation officer doesn’t seem to want to help your bf. I would have your bf talk to her supervisor..tell the supervisor what they had worked out and agreed to prior to being transferred to this woman…there are a few people within the system who care and really want to help and that’s why they do what they do…for the very few they can help…GOOD LUCK
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27.October, 2009 um 9:57 pm
If bf does not have a copy of the order made by the judge which states all of the terms of his probation, he can go to the courthouse and get another copy. Then he can read for himself exactly how long he will be on probation and what he must do while he is on it.
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27.October, 2009 um 10:30 pm
1) He’s not necessarily eligible to have his charge reduced to a misdemeanor in June when he pays his fees… Nothing is owed to him, and when the time comes, he’ll need to petition the Court for an early release and a reduction in charges… In my county, the judge often sets a minimum time–usually about halfway through probation–as the first time that the Court will consider a petition to terminate probation early and/or reduce the offense to a misdemeanor… Contrary to popular belief, fee payment is not the only determination as to whether a person gets terminated early or gets a sentence reduction… In fact, it’s nowhere near the most important factor… His general performance on probation and whether or not his PO thinks he is a low risk to reoffend is the most important component…
2) Hire a new attorney…
There may be a number of factors contributing to your opinion of his PO… One may be that she is, indeed, rude and not very helpful… Sadly, some PO’s–often the new ones, or the burned-out ones–are like that… Good PO’s don’t like ineffective PO’s any more than probationers do…
But I also offer you a different possibility to ponder: She isn’t familiar with your boyfriend, and she needs time to make her own assessment of his progress… She doesn’t want to commit in January to something that he wants in June, when she doesn’t know how he’s going to perform on probation for the next six months… I have taken over several different caseloads in my career, and it’s usually a challenging transition, both for the PO and for the probationer… Neither knows what to expect from each other, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, "My old PO told me that I could………" when it wasn’t true… Sometimes it’s true, but many times, it’s not…
My advice is to just relax… Let time take its course… If your boyfriend continues to stay out of trouble and comply with his conditions of probation, you may be pleasantly surprised by his PO’s change in disposition as she becomes more familiar with him and learns first-hand that he’s not one of the many who are lying to her and trying to manipulate her…
If, in six months, the problems remain, your boyfriend can contact his PO’s supervisor and see if there are any constructive solutions available…
References :
12 years as an Indiana probation officer