Understanding Multiple County Probation
What do you do if you’re on probation in multiple counties? Hi, my name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa probation attorney with Wirth Law Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ve been practicing family and criminal law for roughly eight years now, and I want to talk to you a little bit about what to do if you’re on a supervised probation program in different counties, both of which require you to make appointments and court appearances.
The easy answer here is that you need to make sure you make every appointment. But obviously, guys, this can be a little tricky. I had a case within the last couple of weeks where I had a client who was in drug court in Oklahoma City and also in Stillwater. When you’re in drug court, it requires a lot. There are classes you have to take, there are tests that you have to take, there are UAs that you have to pass, and there are also relatively regular hearings that you have to attend.
The Challenges of Juggling Multiple Probations
So here’s what happened in this instance. My client accidentally missed one of those hearings. Not the end of the world. It wasn’t necessarily like an intentional or malicious or even negligent thing; it was just appointment after appointment after appointment after appointment, court date, class, tests, UA, tests, class, court date, tests. It just became a lot, and unfortunately, this one thing slipped through the crack, which was a big one. She didn’t show up for court.
And so in those situations, if you’re not showing up for court, then one, you’re risking getting kicked out, but two, you’re going to get a warrant issued for your arrest. In this instance, thankfully, even though the warrant was issued, the judge was very kind enough to recall the warrant and allow my client to stay out on her bond and get back into drug court and finish her program. Because she hadn’t substantively violated the rules, she just missed an appointment. That’s all it was.
Proactive Strategies for Success
If you’re in this situation and you are trying to bounce between counties, making sure that you’re getting everything together that you need to, make sure you’re writing down every appointment that you have, every test that you have to take, every class that you have to go to, every court appearance that you have. Get yourself a solid calendar. I know a lot of people like to put it on their phones, and that’s great, except sometimes the information doesn’t get saved, or something happens and might get deleted.
Dude, get a paper calendar. Just write it in there. You cannot hack, and you cannot delete ink and paper. If you have questions about this, I definitely want you to give me a call. My name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa criminal defense attorney with Wirth Law Office, and I want to help you make law easy.
Schedule Your Strategy Session Today
If you’re navigating probation in multiple counties and need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out. Call me at 918-879-1681 to schedule a low-cost initial strategy session. Let’s work together to ensure that your probation requirements are met smoothly and effectively.
