I've been blogging about probation lately, so I thought I'd share advice I give my clients when they are on probation. These next items pertain to standard orders judges usually give when placing someone on probation in Georgia. In my next blog, I'll cover the rest of the orders.

1. "Do not violate the criminal laws of any governmental unit" means

• Do not get a parking ticket, a ticket for not cleaning up after your dog or any new citation for anything.
• Do not hang around with anyone who might get a ticket. You will have the rest of your life to hang around anyone you choose;
  while you're on probation, work and go home.

2. "Avoid injurious and vicious habits, especially alcoholic intoxication and narcotics and other dangerous drugs unless prescribed lawfully" means

• Do not drink or take any drugs, ever, for any reason.
• No party is worth spending months in jail after you've been caught drinking or drugging.

3. "Avoid persons or places of disreputable or harmful character" means

• Do not go to places where alcohol is served.
• If any of your friends are on probation, stay away from them until you are both no longer on probation, or you may become cell mates.
• Your probation officer and his or her work buddies go on home visits to their probationers, and they go out to eat to bars where you are not supposed to be. If they see you where you are not supposed to be, you will have to explain that to the judge.

4. "Report to the probation supervisor as directed and permit said supervisor to visit you at home or elsewhere" means

• Keep your appointment. Do not call before or after to try to explain why you cannot report at the time you have already been told to report.
• Your boss cannot put you in jail for leaving work early or arriving late; he or she might fire you but that's better than sitting in jail. Your probation officer is authorized, and may ask the judge, to put you in jail if you cannot report when you are told to do so.
• You have the rest of your life to decide what to do, where to do it and how to do it. While you're on probation, your probation officer makes those decisions for you.

5. "Work faithfully at suitable employment insofar as may be possible" means

• Find a job and keep it. If you lose your job, find another one right away.
• If you're having trouble finding a job, tell your probation officer and your officer might help you land a new, better job.
• When you are not working or performing community service, the probation officer and judge think you are out buying / selling / taking drugs. Prove them wrong.

I've been blogging about probation lately, so I thought I'd share advice I give my clients when they are on probation.  These items pertain to what happens right after someone has been sentenced:

1. If your sentence includes jail or work release, and you do not have to report to jail right after court, do not show up at the jail with alcohol on your breath or drugs in your system.  Make sure the judge knows about prescription medications in court.

• The first thing the warden does at the Work Release Program is test you for drugs.
  • If you are not "clean," you will not be admitted to work release; you will be sent to the detention center for however long the warden decides; you have no right to a hearing or an attorney when the warden makes his decision.
  • If you do not think you will pass the drug test, tell your attorney BEFORE you agree on a report date.
  • Many drugs stay in your system for days, weeks or even a month after you take them.  Drinking water or taking "supplements" changes nothing.

2. Pay your fees and fines to probation on time.

• If you have no money, report to probation and tell your officer why you are not making a payment.
• A judge is never authorized to revoke probation because you CANNOT pay; a judge is authorized to revoke probation because you WILL NOT pay.
• The probation officer and judge think you are spending all of your money buying/selling/taking drugs.  Prove them wrong.

DUI laws were amended in 2008 requiring judges to order an alcohol evaluation and treatment on all DUI convictions, even a first offense (the earlier law required an evaluation and treatment on a second or subsequent DUI).

The law does provide that in the judge's discretion, on a first DUI conviction, the judge doesn't have to order it, which means it's not much of a requirement.

Tip #1 Separate your evaluation and your treatment

I counsel my clients to obtain an EVALUATION at one place, and tell the evaluator up front that if treatment is recommended, that the the client will be going somewhere else for TREATMENT.

In my opinion, in order for the evaluation to be free of any bias, the recommendation should not depend upon the evaluator needing folks in his or her treatment program.

Tip #2 Get a fair evaluation

The MAST is a standardized test that helps an evaluator know whether you would benefit from additional counseling.   In addition to the MAST, the evaluator should have an in-person interview with you to discuss your personal background, family background, educational and work background and any difficulties recent or in the past that encourage drinking.

It is also my opinion that the police report and breath test slip are not necessary for a fair evaluation.

Tip #3 Get help if you think you need it; don't wait for the law to tell you

I think anyone who feels as though alcohol plays too large a role in their life can benefit from counseling, but not under the threat of jail by the court system.

If you would like to discuss your personal evaluation, please call or email me.

1. The easiest and cheapest solution is to call your cell phone service provider and ask they block texting access on a certain number. Most plans allow you to do this to as many or as few numbers as are on your plan. A few may even be able to do this for just certain hours in the day.

2. Textecution - this program disables texting when a GPS device detects the phone is travelling at more than 10mph.

3. DriveSafe.ly reads your texts out loud.

4. TXTBlocker allows you to set time and location restrictions for texting or talking on the phone.

These last 3 options have varying prices and work only on certain phones. See this excellent article by the consumerist.com for more information.

Drive safely!