T
TeDo
Guest
difficult child 1 had court today. The ridiculous charge did NOT go away as our lawyer was lead to believe. He was given a proposal by the prosecutor that included a $100 fine, 10 hours community service, a SAFE class (Seatbelts, Alcohol, Fatalities, and Enforcement) that costs $75, a Juvenile Mental Health Assessment (DUH!!), counseling as recommended, and probation for up to a year with juvie hanging over his head if he doesn't fully comply.
I argued with our lawyer about how ridiculous this was given the circimstances of the incident. He went to the prosecutor and the best he could do was take juvie off the table completely and cut probation to "up to" 6 months. That was because "this wasn't the only time the police have been called about difficult child 1". No duh, I called for help twice during that same week because I couldn't reach our psychiatrist for help but neither of those calls involved a weapon or violence of any kind. But then, we did have that stupid report from the Occupational Therapist (OT) that should have been made to Social Services (as is standard protocol in our state) and NOT the police. In our case, creating a paper trail to get help backfired in a big way for us. Our legal system here is soooo out of touch with the times.
The positive side is that he can do additional community service to pay off the fine (Boy Scout and 4-H community service projects count), his PO is part of our Boy Scout troop and our 4-H club so we know him well, and if difficult child 1 does everything in 3 months it will all be DONE and it won't appear on his record.
I still think this is still completely a**inine in the first place. Now .... to come up with the fee for that stupid class that has nothing to do with what happened. Grrrr
I argued with our lawyer about how ridiculous this was given the circimstances of the incident. He went to the prosecutor and the best he could do was take juvie off the table completely and cut probation to "up to" 6 months. That was because "this wasn't the only time the police have been called about difficult child 1". No duh, I called for help twice during that same week because I couldn't reach our psychiatrist for help but neither of those calls involved a weapon or violence of any kind. But then, we did have that stupid report from the Occupational Therapist (OT) that should have been made to Social Services (as is standard protocol in our state) and NOT the police. In our case, creating a paper trail to get help backfired in a big way for us. Our legal system here is soooo out of touch with the times.
The positive side is that he can do additional community service to pay off the fine (Boy Scout and 4-H community service projects count), his PO is part of our Boy Scout troop and our 4-H club so we know him well, and if difficult child 1 does everything in 3 months it will all be DONE and it won't appear on his record.
I still think this is still completely a**inine in the first place. Now .... to come up with the fee for that stupid class that has nothing to do with what happened. Grrrr
