Court dates and probation

You may be in jail awaiting trial, or a hearing because you're accused of a probation violation. Here's a few things you should know.

First off, several of my fellow inmates worried themselves sick about whether they'd make their court date. This is understandable: when you're in jail, most of your time is sitting waiting for the next milestone. This includes days, weeks, or months of nothing but waiting. So some inmates work themselves into a lather, afraid the jail won't deliver them to the court at the appointed hour.

Don't worry. The ICJ is very efficient at delivering you to your court appointment.

If your court appointment happens to be at the 55th District Court, the courtroom is in a building attached to the jail. The guards will shackle you -- whether you are a violent offender or not -- and take you down a long connector hallway to the court. They'll place you in a holding cell while you await your court appearance.  If you're in another court, you'll be taken there, escorted, in an ICJ van.

If it happens to be cold outside, you will freeze in the hallway and in the holding cell. One court guard, who is otherwise very friendly -- even compassionate -- has a bug about inmates staring out the window of the holding cell. If any of your fellows awaiting court stands by the door window, the guard will turn on a fan bringing in outside air.

The guard will remove your shackles while you're in the holding cell, then shackle you again when it's time for you to head into court.  If you're a non-violent offender, you may wonder why O.J. Simpson made it through murder and armed robbery trials without cuffs, but you stand before the judge unable to even raise your right hand.

When your time comes, you'll be taken into court. There will probably be a trial or hearing in progress, so once again you await your turn. Then you and your attorney -- either paid or court-appointed -- will face the judge.

After your trial or hearing, you'll go back to the holding cell with other inmates.  You may wait hours to leave the holding cell.  They'll feed you a bologna sandwich lunch if you stay across meal time.  

Depending on the verdict or sentence, you may be set free.  You'll go back to your cell, get your belongings, and be processed out.  See the "leaving jail" post in this blog for further information.

If the judge doesn't set you free, you'll head back to your cell.  If you're sentenced to time in jail, you'll eventually be moved to a sentenced dorm.  The main difference: no television.  If you're sentenced to prison, within a few days you'll be escorted to a van and hauled to another slammer.

...

Probation is a topic that could fill an entire blog of its own.  They say that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  I won't claim that your PO is corrupt, but it's clear that she or he -- most of them are women, for some reason -- exults in her power, and will gladly exercising that power over every aspect of your life, not just the crime you committed.  She'll have you arrested and hauled to jail on any hint of a possible probation violation.  Unless you make bail, you'll rot in jail until your hearing date comes up. 

I met many inmates, some of whom have been through the criminal justice system multiple times, who said they'd gladly spend 30 or 60 days in jail instead of enduring 2 years of probation.  Speaking from experience, I can suggest that if you've already lost your job, doing time may be a much better deal than probation.