BoldlyRide

My friend with the PD contract in a neighboring rural county asked me to handle his calendar this morning. All but two of the defendants were in custody, complete with orange overalls. One of the two non-custodials met me in the parking lot and immediately said he wanted the hearing on his probation violation postponed -- which was fine with me as my friend has suggested that and the prosecutor went along with it too because it looks like there are some new PV's that need to be added.

One of the guys in custody is an illegal alien. He had been found guilty of a felony, got a 180 day rider that he did well on and so now is back before the court with a recommendation that he be given probation. The guy says he doesn't know what probation means so I explain it means not going back to jail, just being supervised and reporting to the PO, etc. The court grants probation and carefully goes over all of the terms and conditions with the defendant. There is an INS hold on the guy so the guy remains in jail until the INS decides whether to deport him. He tells the judge that he just wants a second chance. Afterward court has adjourned, I hear him talking to the sheriff and the sheriff asks if he is also on probation out of California -- the answer: "I don't know." So I have to wonder, does he not know because he still isn't clear on what probation is, or does he JUST NOT REMEMBER IF HE WAS CONVICTED OF A FELONY IN CALIFORNIA?