Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

I am worried about my recent probation violation, what should I expect to happen for punishment? How can I avoid harsh punishment and should I notify my probation officer? I recently received my 4th MIP within Michigan, I am 20 years old and in February I'll be 21. I'm on probation for my last MIP which is suppose to end in two weeks. Should I notify my probation officer? I'm currently a full time student, looking for a job, going to counseling and started AA after I got my MIP. I am attending a program that requires you to go 90 times in 90 days. My last MIP required 30 days in jail because it was during the summer and I broke probation rules. Please let me know what I can do to avoid jail time or harsh punishments and if I should notify my probation officer.


Asked on 10/08/13, 12:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Neil O'Brien Eaton County Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

Many probation orders require to you tell probation immediately if you have any police contact. If your order does, then this failure is a violation even if you were not convicted of the new MIP. You're asking for advice on "should I obey a court order, or should I risk no one finding out that I violated probation?" In the last 3 days, no one here has told you what you WANT to hear. What you NEED to hear is that if you do not man up and report this to probation on your own and somehow probation finds out about the news charge, then you can bet that probation and the judge will believe that you were trying to pull a fast one on them; expect punishment for the new criminal activity + more for being deceptive. If you man up and tell the P.O., you may get punished for the new crime, but you might also be given 'credit' for being up-front about it. Yes, turning yourself in will mean almost certain punishment by exposing your wrongdoing, but some judges will see past that (in whole or in part) when you maturely take responsibility for your wrongdoings. Regardless of whether the current probation case's judge sees you before your probation term expires, the MIP 4th judge will learn that you committed that case while on probation for MIP 3rd ... and if both cases are in the same court, the dots will be connected that you fooled the court on the MIP 3rd. You can run but you can't hide. Think about these issues before you decide what's best for you in the long run. Bottom line: stop drinking, and grow up.

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Answered on 10/11/13, 2:41 pm


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