Reply #27: I agree with your lawyer

[Taylor Mason Powell]

Do NOT fire him, do NOT represent yourself, do NOT call the judge.

DO: Ask for a continuance. Call your lawyer tomorrow and tell him to file whatever papers he needs to file, but you need more time. Most courts are happy to grant at least one or two continuances, for good cause. Once you have a continuance you have some breathing room to get your shit together.

DO: Continue to do as much community service as you can.

DO: Collect documentation as to the following:

- Your ear surgery
- Your employment history and lack thereof, and any documentation showing financial hardship (bank records?)
- ALL your school transcripts, including awards, credits, honors, anything
-letters of reference from family, teachers, friends, saying what a good/trustworthy/law abiding/honest kid you are. You may or may not need to use them but they'll be good to have.

DO: Talk to your probation officer if you have one! You may not have a probation officer assigned to you though. In many jurisdictions, only felony probations are supervised by individual probation officers.

DO: Get all the documentation above to your lawyer and make sure he presents it to the probation department. Your lawyer should be working with probation to resolve the issue. If probation is on your side when you eventually go to court, so much the better! Judges love to follow the recommendation of probation - takes the heat off the judge.

When the hearing comes, DO have your parents and anybody who is available come to court and sit in the audience to support you, and tell your lawyer to make sure the judge is aware that these people are there in court to support you. DO dress up for the hearing, and act remorseful. (EDIT: This part only really applies if your lawyer hasn't worked something out prior to the hearing. It's most likely that you won't even go to a full-blown hearing. Having people come to court is a good idea when your fate is in the hands of the judge, but if something's already worked out beforehand, no need to have mom and dad come sit in court...)

DO NOT: Worry about going to jail. For a first time probation violation, it is unlikely that they're gonna impose the full 60 day sentence. On an MIP? I just don't see it. Unless your local court system is incredibly wealthy or incredibly fascist, I think the chances of you doing any jail time on this are minimal. Especially when you can show the court what an oustanding young citizen you are.

DO NOT listen to all the armchair lawyers on this thread, especially the ones blaming you, telling you to "man up" and do your time. FUCK THAT. Yes, you let this thing get away from you, but you're gonna get things under control, it's a very minor crime, it's your first screw-up on probation and you're not exactly a career criminal. These people gleefully telling you to go to jail are nuts. You do not belong in jail for this stupid crap, and I have to think the court's going to see that. The caveat is I don't practice in Ohio and maybe you live in the midst of a Kafkaesque hellscape nightmare from which there is no awakening. Short of that, just get your shit together and make an appointment to meet with your lawyer. You're going to be fine.

You may have made a mistake in taking the deal in the first place. The disposition seems unduly harsh to me. But that may be Ohio. At this point, that's water under the bridge and it's unlikely an appeal is going to be successful or worth the time and effort - not in a minor-in-possession case. Which reminds me: however this turns out, DO go back to court in a year and get it expunged off your record.

I am a criminal defense lawyer, and although I don't practice anywhere near your neck of the woods, I handle plenty of cases like yours and I think I know whereof I speak. I participate as a criminal law expert on a site where legal experts answer questions, and I've noticed that the answers to questions from all over the country are very similar to the answers to questions from California. So I feel confident that my advice to you is sound. However, no attorney-client relationship is created by this reply and you should ALWAYS consult an attorney in your area. If you really don't like how your attorney is handling the case, see if your local bar association will refer you to another attorney just for a consultation. The initial consultation is usually free.

Best of luck! Deep breaths! Start collecting documents and get that continuance!