Parole, Probation Extend of "Jurisdiction" of County Court in New York State? Probation travel issues.

[Cobaltblu]

Hi,

I am currently on probation in New York State and was sentenced by the County Court of a specific county. It was a non-violent felony.

One of my probation conditions says I cannot leave the jurisdiction of the court without approval of the court or the probation officer.

My probation officer mentioned that means the geographical boundaries of the county. My lawyer mentioned that the jurisdiction of the county court actually extends throughout New York State and that the branch of the county court in my specific county is only the proper VENUE (for example for crimes committed in that county). He mentioned that the court is actually a state court.

I noticed that NYS has a unified court system and the constitution sets up a county court with specific jurisdiction which has branches in each county.

The probation condition just references the "jurisdiction" of the court and does not specifically mention the state or the county I live in. The probation court order does start off with "State of New York" and then "County Court" and then "County of XXX".

Please help me clarify this issue.

Thank You

 

[CdwJava]

Why don't you call your probation officer and ask him to clarify? Or, simply call and ask for permission to leave when you need to?

Ask your attorney if he is willing to defend you for free if you get popped for violating your probation?

I suspect they don't want you to leave the county without advising them. While the court might have authority to enact sentences or orders that are valid throughout the state, the jurisdiction to hear cases extends only to cases that occurred or were filed within that county.

Do you really want to risk going to jail to serve the balance of your time in custody by leaving the county? If your probation officers says "the county", then you might be best served by asking permission to leave rather than risking jail time.

- Carl

 

[Cobaltblu]

I certainly am not going to disregard what the probation officer says or violate my probation by doing something not allowed by the conditions of probation. The probation officer has a good relationship with me as well as hasn't said it would be a problem necessarily for me to travel.

I was interested in a second opinion since my lawyer said that theoretically the court's jurisdiction extends through the state. If that is indeed the case I could challenge what the probation department claims in court if they deny my travel within the state if it becomes an issue.

I will follow what the probation conditions dictate but on the other hand I want to fully understand my rights and if I am not required to do something via the probation conditions I do not want to go along with absolutely anything the probation department suggests.

 

[CdwJava]

Well, you have two differing opinions - one from the probation officer, and one from your attorney. Since it is the probation officer that will decide if you get remanded back into custody, his interpretation should be the one you heed absent some controlling authority ruling otherwise.

If you want THE definitive answer, you may want to ask your attorney to go back into court to get a ruling by the court to clarify the matter.

- Carl