Arraignment, Bail, Bonds, Pretrial Community service/court fines

[fumbxtc]

New to the site, and need a little advice, and have a few questions as i'm pretty scared.

Around 8 months ago, i was convicted of a misdemeanor, i'm 30 and it was my first and only offense. To make a long story short as to the why, i had stolen product from my employer and sold them on ebay.

During the case, i had went to a pretrial probation hearing..they asked me some questions, and had me take a drug test. Drug test came back clean, and it was determined that there was no reason for probation, so i wasnt put on probation.

I was ordered to pay 350 dollars in court fees..100 hours of community service, and to pay back 3000 in one year.

I did a couple of days of community service, and my employer fired me because i had asked for some schedule flexibility for my community service (the only com. svc that i could do because i stole, was a soup kitchen open only m-f between 4 and 7)..i ended up getting another job fairly quickly, and just kind of swept the com service under the rug. Stupid i know, but i didnt want to get fired again.

The next months were spend working full time, and all (and i mean all) of my income was spent of child support (which i'm caught up on), rent, and living expenses...i even had to get rid of my car because i couldnt afford the insurance, so i didnt pay my fine, or start my restitution.

My questions are:
I'm pretty sure i must have a warrant..can i go to the court and ask the clerk if i can go before the judge again? I cant afford another attorney, and my original one wont talk to me without another retainer

If i just go there and dont have the money to pay the fine..will i be thrown in jail or will they let me go before the judge and explain.

Can i ask to be put on probation, since i didnt get it during original sentencing..i wouldnt mind probation, because i dont get into trouble.

I just dont want to serve any time because i'll lose my job and home, my child support will fall behind again, and my daughters mother will use this as an excuse to get my court ordered visitation revoked.

Any advice would help

 

[mightymoose]

Community service was an alternative to doing time in jail. Unless you want to do the jail time you need to find a way to work off that time. Make sure your court fees and any fines are paid up. As for the restitution I believe it is up to the employer to keep track of that. If they aren't making a big stink about your non-payment so far, do what you can to get other things in order so that you can make payments when they realize you are behind.

On second thought... if your restitution is paid through the court and not directly to the employer, then you better at least make small payments to show your intent to pay.

 

[fumbxtc]

thanks for taking the time to reply mightymoose, i appreciate it, but was actually wondering the procedure i would have to go through. Can i just go to the courthouse and explain to the court clerk, and will he or she let me see the judge..or will i be arrested until a hearing can take place? I've tried calling the courthouse, but cant seem to get through. Should i maybe call the sheriffs office and ask them?

 

[mightymoose]

Call the sheriff department and ask for the records division. if you give them your name and birthdate they will check if you have any active warrants. If so... you are going to have to pick a good time to turn yourself in. I suggest early morning on a Mon-Wed, that way you are most likely to see a judge the following day. If you turn yourself in late in the day then they can put you off a lot longer. If you turn yourself in Thu-Sun you will spend more time in jail.

If you don't have a warrant, get in touch with whichever department is keeping track of your community service hours and get that back on track. As for the restitution, as long as you are making SOME payment that shows your intent to make good on the matter then you shouldn't be hassled over it. You will only get in trouble for NON-payment.