Expert: Robin Sexton - 9/13/2009

Question
i got put on probation on 4-22-09 and i have not reported to my probation officer nor did any of my community service nor have i payed any of my fines.when i checked on casenet under that charge(which is failing to obey an officers command)it states that i have a summons to appear in a criminal case,what does that mean?do i have to appear in court for that?(today is 9-13-09 and the summuns is for 9-15-09).
now my probation office has issused a probation violation against me(on 8-31-09). what can they do to me? will they issue a warrent for my arrest? or will they wait and arrest me on my probation review hearing on 12-11-09? by law how long can they hold me?iam only on 1 year supervised probation?
i also have a warrent for my arrest in another county,it is for a seatbelt fine that i did not pay and i failed to appear in court,i have been stopped by law enforcement in my town but the warrent has the wrong name on it so i dont get arrested here when we get pulled over. what should i do?is this going to go against me at my review hearing?
i dont have any money to pay the fines because i quit my job the week after i got put on probation,i have a 1 year old baby,i have no place to live because the electric is shut off at my trailor,so i have being staying with my boyfriends parents for the last 6 months,they watch the baby and take care of her,they buy everything for her,me and their son spend most of our time partying,will they be able to prove me an unfit parent and take my baby away?i never really wanted to be a mother but now that iam i have found that i can use my child as a pawn to get my way,so i dont want his parents to get custody of her,we just got into a fight with them and got kicked out and now we have nowhere to go,what happens if they have a walfare check done on us and can prove that we have been staying there for the last 6 months,and that they buy all of her diapers and everything,will they get custody of her,i hate my own mother and she has never done anything for me nor does my baby know her but just to be spiteful if i go to jail i will probably give my mother temp custody. will the judge go easy on me because i have a baby?
me and my boyfriend(not married)but his name is on the birth certificate,if he dosent go to jail will he get custody of her,he is on parole for drugs?
     please help!!!!

Answer
Caroline,

I am truly sorry about all the problems you are having.  Unfortunately you seem to keep compounding them.
I am not a counselor so i will refrain from giving to much personal advise and pretty much just stay with the legal questions.
Probation, you are risking arrest and jail by failing to comply with the probation orders.  The summons means you need to be in court on the 15 th.  Failing to do so will probably result in a bench warrant. if located you will be put in jail until you see the judge.  Your best course of action is to immediately contact the court and make arrangements to appear.  When you appear you have little choice but to explain your situation to the judge.  I don't know if at this late stage the judge will be to sympathetic.  You have pretty much dissed the court up to this point.  Violation of probation could be jail up to the total amount of time you have left on your sentence or from when you failed to submit to your probation requirements.  You may need a lawyer to help negotiate this down and reduce the ramifications.
Regarding the warrant, until the police learn that the original citation is in the wrong name they will not be arresting you on it.  However if and when they do you will be responsible for the original charge and possible an additional charge of giving a false name or similar violation.  
Regarding your child,  i am not sure where to start.  First I am certainly not understanding of your using your child as a pawn.  Being a parent is very difficult under the best of situations, being homeless and destitute makes if infinitely worse.  However your first obligation both morally and legally is to your child.  You need to seek assistance from what ever sources are available.  You are running the risk of both you and your child being taken into government custody for your child's welfare.
If the judge is experienced the fact that you are a single mother may not have any influence on their decision.  If they do much of a background check on you they may determine that for the welfare of the child putting you in jail may be for the best.  The placement of the child will be based on what is best for the child.  That decision is the discretion of the social serviced and the court.  you will get little say.
First things first, contact social services and begin taking care of your child or making arrangements for the child's welfare if you can not provide.
Second, contact the probation dept or the court and begin dealing with your legal obligation.  You have been making some very bad decisions and you need to stop and begin dealing with them.  They will not be going away and will only be getting more serious as you delay.

Good luck

robin