Take the felony?

[LadyH]

Okay, so I have a big decision to make. Basically, I have to do drug court for my second 5th degree possession charge. It's either that, or take the felony and go to jail for like 6-8 months(according to my public defender). In 2009 I got my first charge ever--5th degree felony possession of heroin. Then a month after that I got a DUI(for heroin). I got a stay of adjudification for the possession charge, and the DUI was a misdemeanor. I violated for not completing treatment once. So, this second charge happened in the beginning of November. I'm not sure if I will be getting the stay of adjudification off for the first charge because if I plead guilty to this second charge, I will be violating for both the possession and the DUI. So, is it worth it for me to do drug court? Or should I just take this second felony(because I will be getting the first one anyway?) Or would I not get the first felony because I am doing drug court? I'm not sure how it will work out. I am doing drug court so I don't get any felonies on my record. But if I'm going to get the felony for the first one I might as well get the other felony cause my life is fucked by just one, and drug court would be pointless. What should I do? My court case is Jan. 4th, and I am doing a drug court interview this week. Thanks for all of your help! I appreciate it so much. You guys always have the best answers!!! Love to you all!

[candyman20]

you kinda lost me i dont see why u would lose a charge on a separate case for takin drug court. But as far as drug court goes that shits a real hassle and youll probly wind up violating it so id just take the time.

[LadyH]

But as of now I have no felonies on my record. I really don't want a felony, and I will do anything to not have one on my record. I am just wondering if you think I would lost the stay of ajudification from my first possession(The deal was I wouldn't get the felony and everything would never be on my record as long as I didn't fuck up). I am wondering if they will keep the first felony off my record too if I accept drug court?

[candyman20]

well im not familiar wit that shit , when i catch a charge and take the plea or whatever then its case closed yamean. So if u dont want a felony then take drug court


ok but whats the time limit on it u know u cant fuck up for a year? a month? life? thats what i dont get

[LadyH]

I'm not sure if it's a different length of drug court for each person. I'm pretty sure it's a year. And the deal was that I couldn't get any more drug charges. And this is they exact same charge. So do I lost the stay of adjudification? Because pleading guilty to this means I am violating my probation. I just thought that if I agree to do drug court they would keep both felonies off of my record.

[ImChipperToday]

Take the drug court. You do not want a felony on your record, through any means possible.

[candyman20]

idk about ur stay of adjudication and all that put catching the case period is a violation of probation doesnt matter if u plead guilty or not, and you misunderstood me i meant in ur stay of adjudication how long are u supposed to stay out of trouble. well ask the DA these questions about ur other felony and such. but as it stands u should be goin to jail on the violation alone

[LadyH]

Oh I am on probation until 2015.

[candyman20]

Oh I am on probation until 2015.

yeah so that means u violated that shit for catchin a new case. why aint you in jail on a detainer

[Count Zero]

Take the drug court. You do not want a felony on your record, through any means possible.

I basically agree with ^^, if you can keep the felonies off your record by all means go for it. That said, If you're not damn sure that you can stay clean and do all the-from what I hear-very demanding bs that drug court requires you have to consider that because if you violate you'll be in anyway. It's tough situation, best of luck & and getting through this to you.

[Snoops]

I'm not sure how it works up there in Minn., but, wouldn't the second possession charge fuck off your Drug Court altogether?
As I understand, your obligation is to remain within' the 'rules and regs' of what is just a cunt hair away from full blown Felony Probation.

My advice, if it is even an option.... Take the deal for another round of Drug Court. Although, I don't see how they could stack 2 rounds of Drug Court?

The first go was your second chance at avoiding the felony, right?

You just may be out of outs, if you know what I mean? Isn't this new beef, plus the past possession and DUI charges enough to have exhausted your 'get outta jail free' card?

Believe me. I hope it works out somehow for ya on the 4th... And if you can. Fuck it. Take more Drug Court. If not, you know the deal... I'm turnin' myself in on the 25th of January.

So, we'll both be just dipped in shit....

[reddragon3668]

I know this goes without saying, but it is really fucked up in this country where drug users get fucked with felonies because they're addicted. I mean, I can see the driving charge. That not only endangers yourself, but others. But, the other bullshit just sucks. It really does perpetuate the problem because people catch these felonies, usually while they are young, and it gives them a "I don't give a fuck attitude" from then on. And, I don't blame them. It is hard enough to get a job these days with an impeccable record, much less a felony... I hate this shit.. and it happens over and over to good people on this board. It just fucking sucks. That is my rant of the day...

With that said, you need to be addressing your questions to an attorney. Since your charges are relatively close together, you might be able to get some leniency by perhaps going to rehab and making it look like you are addressing the problem (as if that's all you need right now; trying to kick drugs!). I don't know, but sounds like the best chance of possibly avoiding a felony on your record. Good luck.

[Baroness]

+ 1^^^. You need to talk to your lawyer on this to figure the best deal and definitely regarding what will happen with your first charge. See if everything can be part of the plea for drug court. I agree that you need to avoid the felony at all costs. Staying clean while on drug court/probation comes down to how bad you wanna stay free and avoid the felony.

[Flowergirl]

Is there any means by which you can hire a criminal defense attorney?

[Der Alte Krieger]

This is making my head spin a little bit, but what I think what you are saying is if you are going to get a felony violation from the first charge there will be a Felony charge no matter whether you get a misdemeanor on the second charge or not, right?
Even so, although Minnesota dosn't have the three strikes law, they might have in the future and that will leave you sitting there with two strikes should you recieve a third, which, no offence, seems a distinct possibility. I dont know for sure whether Heroin possesion is considered a "serious Felony, like armed robbery or burglery but maybe a Lawyer will chime in, I would do what ever I could to avoid stacking up a pile of Felonys, it ain't going to look good on your record no matter what.

I am curious why you don't mention what your Lawyer has to say about all this? Are you using a Public Defender?

[Snoops]

@Baroness- the course to recovery is riddled with relapses. So to say that "Staying Clean" is ALL a matter of how badly you wanna avoid a Felony or Jail/Prison Time, well.... It isn't that easy, or simple.

Trying to get sober, and your shit together is HARD... Hard enough, w/o the piss police on your ass.

I hope I'm not coming off like an asshole. Not my intent at all. It's just that, I've been on the receiving end of this bullshit for GD years and years... They set you up for failure. Addiction is a Disease, and should be treated as such.... Not a Crime curable by throwing your ass in a cage.



--- auto merge ---

@Baroness- the course to recovery is riddled with relapses. So to say that "Staying Clean" is ALL a matter of how badly you wanna avoid a Felony or Jail/Prison Time, well.... It isn't that easy, or simple.

Trying to get sober, and your shit together is HARD... Hard enough, w/o the piss police on your ass.

I hope I'm not coming off like an asshole. Not my intent at all. It's just that, I've been on the receiving end of this bullshit for GD years and years... They set you up for failure. Addiction is a Disease, and should be treated as such.... Not a Crime curable by throwing your ass in a cage.

Also, allow me to explain. I've been

[LadyH]

Snoops- I have never done drug court before. I had to do regular probation. Which was just going to see my probation officer ever three months to do a one hour "life skills" class with a group of people. So this would be my first time doing drug court.
About the lawyer situation: The lawyer that I used before(for the first two charges and the violation) said that it would be $14,000 for the charge and the violations, so my parents couldn't afford it. I have a public defender. He said to take drug court, or I would get a felony and go to jail for 6 months for the charge, and a couple months for the violation probably. So in order to avoid the felony, I want to do drug court. I just want to make sure that I won't get the felony on my record from the first charge. I will be asking him about it. I was also wondering about methadone or going back to suboxone. I posted a thread about making this decision in the methadone section and I would really appreciate some help with that decision. I explained all about my experience with both drugs in the thread I am talking about. Please let me know your opinion there. Thanks so much for all of your help. The name of the thread is: "Should I do methadone? Or go back to suboxone? Thanks for you help!"

[Baroness]

@ Snoops ~ I know recovery is not simple. My statement was a simplification rather than going through listing all the stuff one can do/try when seriously trying to recover...the willingness to do what's needed to stay clean.

No offense intended to OP or anyone else. I've been there myself and know it's not a walk in the park.

[jimmyfingers]

Any lawyer worth 2 shit would send you to rehab now. This way when you go to court you can show the Judge, PO, and whomever else that you are trying to do something about your problem. Seeing an addiction counselor that is well known in the court system who can testify for you is another option, though I think going inpatient looks better.

Whatever you do, you are going to need to get clean and stay clean or your in a world of shit. What exactly is a 5th degree felony?

[LadyH]

I agree with you jimmyfingers. I need to go to do some treatment(again!!!). But I really don't know what the fuck I would say to my job. I don't want to lose my job. I was thinking i could go to a clinic and do their counseling(which I think most clinics make you do). Or do some outpatient. I know inpatient is better, and works better, and looks better. Either way, I am supposed to get a drug evaluation to see what type of treatment I need. What do I say to my job so I don't lose it?

[candyman20]

ok u say your already on probabtion right, you were then arrested again, so how come ur po isnt violating you

[GOLD N DIEMONDS]

As I understand your situation
This is a NO BRAINER

TAKE DRUG COURT- just make sure that you FULLY understand and have in written all that involved and the in fact
sucessful completeion of Drubg Court will ex-SPONGE all Felony dcharges.

IDK want type of job ypou have or career you want. but doing time you ;lost your job.
2 felonies will greatly frucker up getting a decent job for years, decades even, ESPECAILly drug ( junkie) charges. It the totally fucker anti- drug outlook, but it very real
PLUS
can you sit and do time,??? It can be very scarey and intemidating.

SO DRUG COURT hands down for me at least
which
To quick answer your other thread here =
again No brainer ,justs based on the reality of the treatment plans

GO FOR THE METHADONE-
YOU NEED STABILITY AND COMPLIANCE TO SUCCESSFUL COMPLETE YOUR DRUG COURT.
it is just to ez to use on top of Subs or take planned vacatrions, which eventually you'll piss dirty and end up in jail.
There a fuckton of more reason for the 'Done- MMT maybe i answer further in other thread
BUT yes, "done your best shot at completing drug court sucessful
try to keep tyo a lower dose.

G,Luck

[chemboy7]

I agree with you jimmyfingers. I need to go to do some treatment(again!!!). But I really don't know what the fuck I would say to my job. I don't want to lose my job. I was thinking i could go to a clinic and do their counseling(which I think most clinics make you do). Or do some outpatient. I know inpatient is better, and works better, and looks better. Either way, I am supposed to get a drug evaluation to see what type of treatment I need. What do I say to my job so I don't lose it?

I don't know if this is good advice or not, but I'd probably just be honest with them. I'm fairly sure they can't fire you if your seeking treatment (because then it would be seen as an illness). Maybe I'm wrong, someone correct me if I am.

Of course you have to take into account that even if they can't fire you for being an addict, they can always find some other bullshit reason if they want you out. Like I said, not sure it's the best advice out there, but I'd probably be honest about it. Things are usually better that way, especially if you have as shitty a memory as I do.

[jimmyfingers]

I think one of the goals of drug court was to get the person off all opiates as 'their research' showed maintenance to not be effective in staying clean. However, I remember reading a post from someone on here that was on drug court and suboxone. It might be the judges call nowdays though.

I have no clue what kind of job you have and where you stand with the people that make the shots.

[LadyH]

I called her and left a message to call me back after I was arrested but she never did. My lawyer said my po will violate me if I plead guilty to the new charges. The new charges were in a different county and I think that's why she didn't violate me right away. Cause my po is in another county too.

[SeVeN]

Ask a Lawyer these questions. Serously, these are serious questions you have and your lwayer can answer all these.

As far as is drug court a good decision? Legal wise, over a felony, hell yes!! You have to ask your self the question and you have to be very honest with yourself.
Will you go straight for this??? Or will you fuck it up. Because if you fuck it up you just added everything from before and now some more bullshit.

Drug court is very serious (at least around here). And Ive not heard of any Drug Court that allows maintenance. Not saying it doesnt happen. If you have a legal script, than thats different.

So maybe subs are different, i dunno.

Good Luck

[LadyH]

I work at PetSmart, in the PetsHotel. I take care of dogs and cats basically. I'm a pet care specialist. I just haven't had many jobs. I don't want to lose this one, because the boredom would just drive me to use more if I was clean. I just need to have it so I have something to do, and so I can feel like I'm a productive member of society. So I think I need to get on maintenance and do some outpatient type of treatment so I can keep my job. I've been to treatment before plenty of times. I've done a week stint twice, 9 days once, and 36 days all inpatient. I've also done outpatient three times. So there's nothing new I would be learning in treatment. I just need someone to make sure I stay clean. Which is what a clinic would do.

[chemboy7]

Maybe you should be more focused on getting clean and avoiding charges than keeping your job. If that means you lose your job, that sucks, but you can always get another job... felonies aren't so temporary. I would explain the situation to your employers, hope they understand and hold your job, and then check into an inpatient program.

[Baroness]

I don't know if this is good advice or not, but I'd probably just be honest with them. I'm fairly sure they can't fire you if your seeking treatment (because then it would be seen as an illness). Maybe I'm wrong, someone correct me if I am.

Of course you have to take into account that even if they can't fire you for being an addict, they can always find some other bullshit reason if they want you out. Like I said, not sure it's the best advice out there, but I'd probably be honest about it. Things are usually better that way, especially if you have as shitty a memory as I do.



Addicts are not protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. You can be fired for being an active addict cuz it's illegal. AFTER you have completed treatment and are a "former" addict, they can't use that as the reason you get fired or not hired. Active alcoholics ARE protected under the ADA. Can you say double-standard...

[Der Alte Krieger]

I work at PetSmart, in the PetsHotel. I take care of dogs and cats basically. I'm a pet care specialist.

I know where thats at, Eden Prarie or Roseville?. If you leave Petsmart on good terms you should be able to get a job at a Petsmart anywhere in the country. Are you a groomer? I used to know a Junkie gal that groomed dogs and and traveled all over the country doing it and kept up a sizeable habit all the time. Somehow she always had good K, too. I wouldnt let the loss of the job influence my actions.

[iriewon]

i didnt read all the responses but drug court round here is for 1st time offenders. if you are already going to have a felony on your record then fuck the hassle of drug court. but id figure out if that other felony is going to be on your record first before i made any decisions. if not then id do the drug court and keep the clean record even tho its such a hassle its worth it to not have shit on your record imo. when it comes to the job if you already have it i wouldnt be worried about losing it if you caught charges or w/e your worry about losing it is...and im sure you could find another min. wage job with little effort even in this shitty job market. a lot of this shit is confusing if you were on probation and caught another charge especially a felony and idk...idk...i dont get why you arent in jail right now and how you are even able to take part in the drug court program since (atleast around here) its for 1st time possession offenders with NO record and from what you said (i believe) you have prior posession charges....idk.

[LadyH]

Wow that's cool that you know where my PetSmart is! It's the Eden Prairie one. I have been debating what I should tell my boss. And also, since you know Minneapolis and the surrounding suburbs(I live in a city that is close to Minnetonka. I won't name the actual city though. Maybe I'm being paranoid about the internets but still). What treatment places do you recommend? I've been a week at Unity Hospital(which fucking sucked), St. Joe's Hospital twice(first time was 6 days, second time was 9 days, then I did outpatient for 2 months after both times. I didn't graduate though), I've also been to the treatment center in Wilmar, Community Addiction Recovery Enterprise(a 36 day program for me, which I hated at the time but was helpful. Unfortunately for me, the sober house I went to right after that was really shitty and I was using the whole damn time I was there), I've also done outpatient at Lifestyle Counseling(Which was run completely by one counselor. He was the weirdest counselor I've ever met. He would say, "Maybe you should run faster next time the cops try to arrest you", or, "Every time you get caught you wind up back here, and it's just more money for me. So, unless you want to give me more of your money, you should stop using". He never even drug tested us. And apparently I talk too much, so when it was my turn in the circle to talk, he told me I was only allowed three questions per session. He just seemed like he didn't care if we used. He was just making a lot of money off of us I think.
Anyways, to get back on track here.... I just want to keep my job and do treatment. I don't want to tell them I'm going to treatment, since that would get me fired. What should I say to be able to come back to my job afterwards? Thanks for the help again guys and gals!

[murphle]

May I ask how you got ur possesion charges? I've copped a handful of time in minneapolis, and the police seemed to be the least of my worries @that time. Infact a radio car rolled buy in the middle of me going hand to hand, and he didn't blink, turn around for a second look, nada. Was pretty sure I'd have to set myself onfire to bring any attention to myself. Seemed to me they were too busy chasing meth heads doing really weird shit to care about anyone else.If you don't wanna say, thats cool, just wandering. Good luck tho.

[Sydewayz]

If you have no felonies on your record take the drug court and get a lawyer a Felony will ruin your life.. I didn't read all the posts but trust me I am a former LEO and take the drug court, if you have any questions feel free to message me and I will help you out the best I can..