Question

My friends son was arrested this last weekend for a ticket warrant. He is on probation. Should he tell his probation officer and risk a probation violation, or wait and see if he is asked if he had any conflicts with LE? I think he should wait and see if it becomes an issue. General question to any.
fawn's Avatar
  • fawn
  • 04-14-2009, 05:27 PM
baby he would be better off telling his probation officer, really honesty is
the best policy....but i will tell you this they will not violate is probation
for a traffic ticket.........unless his offense is a dwi..
if you want to know more in a more private setting then
please feel free to pm me or email me.............
Shannon, like Fawn indicated, honesty is the best route however I will state except with the law at the point you described in your post. Let me explain a little before some start coming unglued: Honesty always wins out but it is who one is honest with that makes the determination.

In this case, I would highly suggest that your friend, and son, consult with legal counsel that is a criminal defense attorney before going to the PO or other LE with this. Reason being you indicated that your friend's son was already on probation and he had a warrant out for his arrest which was more than likely a bench warrent issued for his FTA on the original traffic citation. What he is on probation for will determine what the consequences might be for the recent arrest as well as why he failed to appear for the traffic citation.

Never go unprepared by dealing with the CJ system on your own as you are giving yourself the worst possible representation since only a fool defends himself in court.(That was a parody of a well known axiom in the legal industry - anyone who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. )
I don't know your friend or the situation at hand, but I do know that alot of times.... Well (Sometimes) Probation Officers aren't trying to violate you. Some Probation Officers are really cool, and a little ticket really isn't anything to worry about. You can only Violate by getting a Felony. So to answer your question I think he should wait until it comes up!
TexTushHog's Avatar
Have him call his lawyer. No substitute for that. I practice civil law and I have an idea what I'd tell him, but that's no substitute for talking to a real criminal lawyer.
Be up front with the PO. They hate finding out stuff on their own. The trust level goes way down if they think one is hiding something from them. JMHO
just tell him to be honest my son was in about the same situation better to tell them than them finding out later about the warrant.
whosnext's Avatar
He should tell his P.O. tickets are usually o.k. and as long as he is current on his probation fees it should not be a problem.
lawyerhobbyist's Avatar
I don't know about Texas. In my state, a ticket won't get you in probation trouble under ordinary circumstances. There's NO substitute for a fast consultation with a lawyer in your own state.
I'm thinking that the original post was 8 months ago so this situation is probably rectified.

LAP
johnnybax's Avatar
I would contact my lawyer with such a question, not an internet message board..
Alot of times they will find out.
CANDY_69's Avatar
IN TEXAS HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT RECOGNIZING AN OFFICIER. SOMEONE SAID THAT IF YOU ASK THEM ARE THEY A POLICE OFFICIER BY LAW THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO TELL YOU.
AustinBusinessTraveler's Avatar
HoneyCandy...

Whomever told you that is a complete and utter idiot. You can recognize the officers by their uniforms or by the presentation of a badge and the verbal statement that they are with "XXXXXX Police" or "XXXXXX Police Department". Of course, the typical time that you hear that is when they are either a) questioning you or b) arresting you.

There are no police in any state required to tell you they are police during an investigation unless they are questioning you, executing a warrant, or arresting you.