Probation Violations in Michigan - I Stopped Reporting
In previous Blog articles, I have discussed various aspects of Probation Violations, from the simple desire to stay out of Jail, or the imposition of too many conditions, to picking up a new charge while on Probation for another, to dropping a dirty urine. Since Probation Violations are a significant part of my Practice (at least my Criminal Practice), I very recently encountered another scenario that comes up quite frequently. This involves someone who simply quit Reporting to Probation, for one reason or another.
Let's define who we're talking about: a person on Probation who fails to report for some time, and is considered an "absconder" (kind of like a runaway). There are many reasons why this can happen. Sometimes, a person just plain misses, and then becomes afraid. Sometimes, a person has had Police contact, and doesn't want to either report it, or lie about it and not report it. Other times, a person may know they're going to test positive for drugs (or alcohol) and rather than face that music, just decides to bail out and deal with it later. The list could go on forever, but the point is that for some reason or reasons, the person has stopped Reporting to Probation. It doesn't take long, of course, for a Warrant to be issued charging the person with a Probation Violation.
For all of the reasons this can happen, and for all of the stories behind those reasons, there are really only 2 ways people resolve this situation:
1. Voluntarily turning yourself in to take care of things, or
2. Getting picked up by the Police on the Warrant.
Most often (but not always) I am called by people in that first group. They know they have some serious unfinished business to take care of, and they want the burden of this outstanding Warrant and all that goes with it to be lifted from their shoulders.
I think it's important to understand something about those people in the second group, who get picked up on the Warrant and brought before the Judge. Having sat in Courtrooms day after day after day for about 20 years, I know how these things work, and I know how Judges view them. And if there ever was a time to use the term "Bulls**t," it probably could never be more accurately applied to anything like it can to the excuses given by those Probation Absconders when the Judge asks them where they've been.
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