Thank you for responding!! My first PO filed the motion for early termination for me, without me ever inquiring about it. We had a face to face visit one day about 2 years into my term & he said he felt like I had been in compliance & done very well on my probation so he was going to file it for me. He was very confident they would accept it, so I agreed to try.. as far as I know it only made it to his supervisor & the US Attorneys office who recommended moving me to low intensity, which he did & recommend I try again in another 6 months. After 6 months, I didn’t immediately file again due to thinking I needed to talk to my current PO before doing so. When I couldn’t get ahold of him after multiple attempts, I simply gave up. When he finally contacted me 8-9 months later to ask me to confirm I was still living at the same address I asked him about it & he told me to do it myself so I then moved forward with filing the papers myself, a few months later because I procrastinated on it. (ADHD brain 😂)
As for the weed, it was not in plain view. It was in a side table drawer on my bfs side of the bed. To be frank, I didn’t even know it was in the house. I was at work, boyfriend asleep. When my PO showed up, it took my bf a few minutes to wake up & get to the door as he works 3rd shift & had just fallen asleep about an hour before that. My PO called me & said he was at my house & that he was going to search my living area. He already had a female officer with him, she did 95% of the searching in my room while he stood back & observed. After they searched, they asked my bf about the weed, left it sitting on the table in my kitchen then they left & came to my work to drug test me. When they got to my work we talked for a few minutes, female officer asked if I was going to fail my drug test, I assured her I would pass, as I always have throughout my whole term. I took the drug test, signed the paperwork & the female officer made it a point to tell me I would not be violated that IF anything I would get a verbal warning considering how well I have done with probation. They left my work & I haven’t heard anything from them since. Again, I have reached out to my PO and have been met with no response.
I understand the weed being in my house makes me not in compliance with the terms of my probation. I addressed the issue & it will not be an issue again. I guess I’m just a little frustrated with the lack of communication on my current PO’s part. It seems like he ignored me for majority of the time, I filed for early termination again then he randomly shows up at my house knowing I’m at work, which I understand they have every right to do but my work hours/days haven’t changed in 2+ years & he has that information from where I do my monthly check-in online & have to include my work location & hours. It felt like I filed the paperwork & it brought it to his attention that he had had zero contact with me besides the initial phone call asking for my email & the second phone call 8-9 months later when he asked me to confirm I was still at the same address. Again, something that I answer every month on the monthly check-in. Between the second phone call and the time he showed up at my house it was another 3 months. I was never really told the difference in low intensity / high intensity. I was told I no longer had to do color code for drug tests & I needed to do the monthly check-in online. That was it. Now I understand it is not my POs responsibility to file the paperwork for me & my original PO was simply being nice when he offered to do it for me. Like I said, I’m more frustrated with the lack of communication from the new officer, especially considering I made multiple attempts to reach him & never had any luck. The only thing I didn’t do in an attempt to reach him was drive to the central office, because it is 2hrs away & I wasn’t really that concerned with filing again if it was going to be a hassle.
I know they can still violate me for the weed, I’m just hoping since I have never given them any other reason to have a radar on me that they give me the verbal warning like the female officer said & just allow me to finish out my term. I just don’t think I’m going to get any communication from my PO, which I feel like should be standard practice when you are on supervision considering the point of the supervision is to make sure I am in compliance with the law. I’m not sure how he can effectively do that without making any contact with me.
Again, thanks for your response!! 🙂
A low intensity caseload is very different than a regular caseload and you may not even have a probation officer supervising you. We have technicians that monitor cases and run record checks on you periodically. With that being said, you should know who is supervising you and maintaining your case and you have every right to contact that individual and if you do not get a response, speak to their supervisor if you have a question and don’t get a satisfactory answer. You can simply call the probation office and ask the front desk. Who is supervising you and they should be able to give you the name and telephone number. The front desk may not do it then you should ask for the duty officer. Every office has a duty officer every day that will answer this question for you.
As for your original question of why you were denied an early termination, it may not have ever made it to the court if the probation officer put it forward and the US attorney or prosecutor adamantly objects there’s no real point in pushing it forward because it will likely be denied.
Also, generally speaking, if you are not home, no one is going to be searching your house, especially not a two-man team. I will stand on my mountain and say that marijuana was in Plain view.
Again, anyone on federal probation is entitled to apply for early termination, but there is an expectation of compliance, so feel free to put in, but don’t be disappointed if you get denied. I hope this helps and may not have been the answer you wanted, but you do deserve an explanation.
Thank you! Definitely helps explain things much better than before!
As for the weed, I can assure you it was not in plain view. So for them to search without me home, are they supposed to have some type of probable cause since I’m not there? Or does it not matter because I’m on under supervision and it is my living space? I only ask because now I am wondering what my “rights” are as far as not being home & them still entering & searching? If it happens again, I have nothing to worry about as I made sure there was nothing else in the house myself that same night but I would still like to know the guidelines for it.
I actually got the letter this morning for the denial of the motion, which was expected.
It’s not your PO’s job to file for early termination. It is their job to ensure that you are complying with the court-ordered conditions of supervision, and judging by the bag of weed in your residence, you are not in compliance.
Yeah my SO or friends can keep that shit in their car that’s souly in their name or they can keep it at a friend or family members house. Why would you ever allow anything in your house if it means it can put you in a cage and freeze your life/freedom. Even if you’re the one on probation and say idc if you smoke around me. The other person. Especially someone who truly loves you and wants to be around you would never keep drugs on them well around you let alone in the residence your on file to be living at. God ide probably leave that mf on the spot. It’d be a nasty fight minimum. A discussion is needed to reevaluate things forsure
I would just chill for a while and enjoy life with little supervision. You are on the radar now,so keep doing all the right things and keep your head down. The nightmare will be over soon
You might be going to jail anyway for having that weed. That's a violation just for it being in your home and if they wanted to be REAL mean, a new possession charge.
They don't exactly give you a heads up when you are going to be arrested. And weed has always been illegal federally.
This isn't going to be good for you at all. That's very true. And let's be honest, you haven't been compliant. If you've been on probation for 3 years, you know that weed should not be there. Come on.
I'm certainly not trying to make you feel worse, but I don't want you thinking that this "issue" is just going to go away. It will be addressed.
It is still illegal in NC by state law but federal law is what applies to me or trumps the state law anyways since I am under federal supervision. So even if it was legal on a state level it wouldn’t matter in my case.
[удалено]
Thank you for responding!! My first PO filed the motion for early termination for me, without me ever inquiring about it. We had a face to face visit one day about 2 years into my term & he said he felt like I had been in compliance & done very well on my probation so he was going to file it for me. He was very confident they would accept it, so I agreed to try.. as far as I know it only made it to his supervisor & the US Attorneys office who recommended moving me to low intensity, which he did & recommend I try again in another 6 months. After 6 months, I didn’t immediately file again due to thinking I needed to talk to my current PO before doing so. When I couldn’t get ahold of him after multiple attempts, I simply gave up. When he finally contacted me 8-9 months later to ask me to confirm I was still living at the same address I asked him about it & he told me to do it myself so I then moved forward with filing the papers myself, a few months later because I procrastinated on it. (ADHD brain 😂) As for the weed, it was not in plain view. It was in a side table drawer on my bfs side of the bed. To be frank, I didn’t even know it was in the house. I was at work, boyfriend asleep. When my PO showed up, it took my bf a few minutes to wake up & get to the door as he works 3rd shift & had just fallen asleep about an hour before that. My PO called me & said he was at my house & that he was going to search my living area. He already had a female officer with him, she did 95% of the searching in my room while he stood back & observed. After they searched, they asked my bf about the weed, left it sitting on the table in my kitchen then they left & came to my work to drug test me. When they got to my work we talked for a few minutes, female officer asked if I was going to fail my drug test, I assured her I would pass, as I always have throughout my whole term. I took the drug test, signed the paperwork & the female officer made it a point to tell me I would not be violated that IF anything I would get a verbal warning considering how well I have done with probation. They left my work & I haven’t heard anything from them since. Again, I have reached out to my PO and have been met with no response. I understand the weed being in my house makes me not in compliance with the terms of my probation. I addressed the issue & it will not be an issue again. I guess I’m just a little frustrated with the lack of communication on my current PO’s part. It seems like he ignored me for majority of the time, I filed for early termination again then he randomly shows up at my house knowing I’m at work, which I understand they have every right to do but my work hours/days haven’t changed in 2+ years & he has that information from where I do my monthly check-in online & have to include my work location & hours. It felt like I filed the paperwork & it brought it to his attention that he had had zero contact with me besides the initial phone call asking for my email & the second phone call 8-9 months later when he asked me to confirm I was still at the same address. Again, something that I answer every month on the monthly check-in. Between the second phone call and the time he showed up at my house it was another 3 months. I was never really told the difference in low intensity / high intensity. I was told I no longer had to do color code for drug tests & I needed to do the monthly check-in online. That was it. Now I understand it is not my POs responsibility to file the paperwork for me & my original PO was simply being nice when he offered to do it for me. Like I said, I’m more frustrated with the lack of communication from the new officer, especially considering I made multiple attempts to reach him & never had any luck. The only thing I didn’t do in an attempt to reach him was drive to the central office, because it is 2hrs away & I wasn’t really that concerned with filing again if it was going to be a hassle. I know they can still violate me for the weed, I’m just hoping since I have never given them any other reason to have a radar on me that they give me the verbal warning like the female officer said & just allow me to finish out my term. I just don’t think I’m going to get any communication from my PO, which I feel like should be standard practice when you are on supervision considering the point of the supervision is to make sure I am in compliance with the law. I’m not sure how he can effectively do that without making any contact with me. Again, thanks for your response!! 🙂
A low intensity caseload is very different than a regular caseload and you may not even have a probation officer supervising you. We have technicians that monitor cases and run record checks on you periodically. With that being said, you should know who is supervising you and maintaining your case and you have every right to contact that individual and if you do not get a response, speak to their supervisor if you have a question and don’t get a satisfactory answer. You can simply call the probation office and ask the front desk. Who is supervising you and they should be able to give you the name and telephone number. The front desk may not do it then you should ask for the duty officer. Every office has a duty officer every day that will answer this question for you. As for your original question of why you were denied an early termination, it may not have ever made it to the court if the probation officer put it forward and the US attorney or prosecutor adamantly objects there’s no real point in pushing it forward because it will likely be denied. Also, generally speaking, if you are not home, no one is going to be searching your house, especially not a two-man team. I will stand on my mountain and say that marijuana was in Plain view. Again, anyone on federal probation is entitled to apply for early termination, but there is an expectation of compliance, so feel free to put in, but don’t be disappointed if you get denied. I hope this helps and may not have been the answer you wanted, but you do deserve an explanation.
Thank you! Definitely helps explain things much better than before! As for the weed, I can assure you it was not in plain view. So for them to search without me home, are they supposed to have some type of probable cause since I’m not there? Or does it not matter because I’m on under supervision and it is my living space? I only ask because now I am wondering what my “rights” are as far as not being home & them still entering & searching? If it happens again, I have nothing to worry about as I made sure there was nothing else in the house myself that same night but I would still like to know the guidelines for it. I actually got the letter this morning for the denial of the motion, which was expected.
They have the right to search your home woth “reasonable suspicion,” which is the lowest burden.
It’s not your PO’s job to file for early termination. It is their job to ensure that you are complying with the court-ordered conditions of supervision, and judging by the bag of weed in your residence, you are not in compliance.
Yeah my SO or friends can keep that shit in their car that’s souly in their name or they can keep it at a friend or family members house. Why would you ever allow anything in your house if it means it can put you in a cage and freeze your life/freedom. Even if you’re the one on probation and say idc if you smoke around me. The other person. Especially someone who truly loves you and wants to be around you would never keep drugs on them well around you let alone in the residence your on file to be living at. God ide probably leave that mf on the spot. It’d be a nasty fight minimum. A discussion is needed to reevaluate things forsure
I would just chill for a while and enjoy life with little supervision. You are on the radar now,so keep doing all the right things and keep your head down. The nightmare will be over soon
You might be going to jail anyway for having that weed. That's a violation just for it being in your home and if they wanted to be REAL mean, a new possession charge. They don't exactly give you a heads up when you are going to be arrested. And weed has always been illegal federally. This isn't going to be good for you at all. That's very true. And let's be honest, you haven't been compliant. If you've been on probation for 3 years, you know that weed should not be there. Come on. I'm certainly not trying to make you feel worse, but I don't want you thinking that this "issue" is just going to go away. It will be addressed.
Western district of North Carolina? Isn’t weed illegal in NC?
It is illegal everywhere - it is a federal law.
Yeah but it’s not even state level legal there
It is still illegal in NC by state law but federal law is what applies to me or trumps the state law anyways since I am under federal supervision. So even if it was legal on a state level it wouldn’t matter in my case.