Reply #50: +1 Best response in the thread.

[Xithras]

1. "Playing the victim" doesn't work, because judges hear it all day long. Judges ALWAYS respond better to people who take full responsibility for their own actions. Life may suck, but the brutal truth is that the court doesn't care. A sentence was handed down, and it must be abided by.
   
   
2. When the OP goes to court, he should explain the circumstance, apologize to the court for not paying on time, and then present a definitive timeline for the repayment and stick to it.
   
   
3. Talking to the judge about a prior relationship would be dumb. At the worst, the judge will be recused and the OP will end up facing a total stranger. At best, it will look like brown nosing, which judges never go for in court. There's no way it could be helpful. If the judge knows the OP and there is a pre-existing positie relationship, there is no reason for the OP to bring it up.
   

The biggest problem with this poster seems to be a serious lack of communication with the court. Can't attend work program because of surgery? That's a perfectly acceptable reason for getting out of it. Call your lawyer, have him contact the court, and see if it can be rescheduled. Can't pay your fines because of a change in finances? No problem. It happens to everyone at some point. Call your attorney, have them contact the court, and see if you can arrange a new payment schedule. It's rare that the court won't take ANY money, but they will often extend the payment periods if you can show that the financial emergency is real.

At this point, if they are looking at probation revocation, the court has lost faith in his willingness to repay. The best thing he can do right now is to walk into court and demonstrate that he IS willing to repay, and have a firm but affordable payment plan in hand.

Of course, if it's already progressed to a revocation hearing, there's a very real possibility that it's too late. It's really at the judges discretion. Apologize. Take responsibility. Offer an alternate plan that meets the court ordered obligations and is superior to jail.

ON EDIT:

Sorry, gotta withdraw the "Best Response" title. ChoppinBroccoli down below wrote this up far better than either of us.