Probation Violations in Michigan - I Missed a Urine Test
In other Blog articles about Probation Violations, I have pointed out that the person facing the Violation faces an uphill fight. By and large, a person gets Violated for doing something they shouldn't have (like pick up a new charge or test positive for drugs), or for NOT doing something they were supposed to (like fail to show up for a urine test, or "drop").
This article will focus specifically on those cases where a person has missed a urine test. If this applies to you, hopefully you're reading this before you ever receive notice from the Probation Department of a Violation or Show Cause (another fancy name for Probation Violation).
I say that because there are some things to do to minimize the damage caused by a missed "drop." If a person has waited until they hear from the either the Court or the Probation Department, the ability to take protective action diminishes considerably.
To begin with, it really doesn't matter where the urine test was to be provided. Many Probation Departments have a person go take their tests at a "facility" such as JAMS, Drug Testing Services, Inc., or Michigan Court Services, Inc. JAMS is by far the most popular facility in the Tri-County area. Other Probation Departments will administer their own breath or urine tests, and send the urine out to a laboratory for analysis. Some Courts even order people to report to their local Police Department to have a breath test done on a daily basis, but that's not the subject of this article.
Whatever the scheme, a miss is a miss.
In my practice, I hear all kinds of stories about how a person called their Probation Officer to explain why they missed, or called beforehand to tell them they couldn't make it. Sometimes, a person will tell me that they left a message for their Probation Officer explaining the situation, and because the Probation Officer didn't call back, they assumed that everything was okay. Other times, the person tries to contact the facility to "make up" the missed test, only to be told that there's nothing that can be done, and the Probation Officer has been notified of the miss. While many of these stories are true, we come back to the same point made above: a miss is a miss.
And that point really hits home when that miss is the reason for a Probation Violation.
So what should a person do when they miss a test?
Continue reading "Probation Violations in Michigan - I Missed a Urine Test" »
