Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

A failed drug test is one of the most straightforward probation violations there is, and the type of drug involved does not matter. Alcohol can trigger a violation the same way an illegal substance can. The only thing that counts is that a condition of probation was violated, and a positive test is documented proof that it was. The violation goes back to the original sentencing judge, who has broad discretion in deciding what happens next. The range of outcomes runs...

You do not need to find out whether your inmate already has a profile on InmateAid before setting one up as a surprise. The service is built entirely for the person on the outside, and your inmate does not create or manage an account themselves. Here is how it works. You create the account, search for your person at Turbeville Correctional Institution in South Carolina, and set up their profile with their facility information. If a profile already exists in the...

Sixty days in county is manageable and the preparation you do now makes a real difference in how smoothly it goes. Start with the phone situation. Many Illinois county jails use phone carriers that charge over $13 per call, which adds up fast over two months. Before you go in, find out which carrier your specific jail uses and set up a prepaid account with them using the numbers of the people you call most. That way funds are ready and...

A second CDV battery charge within a year is a serious situation and the repeat nature of it is what changes the calculus most significantly. Judges take a dim view of domestic violence repeat offenses, and a second charge within twelve months tells the court that the first charge produced no behavioral change. That pattern is exactly what drives harsher sentencing decisions. The leniency that sometimes exists for a first offense is largely gone by the time someone is standing before...

Yes, visitor approvals do not transfer between state prison systems. Each state runs its own independent approval process, and being approved in California has no bearing on your eligibility to visit in Arizona. You start the application process from scratch when an inmate moves to a different state's correctional system. Arizona's visitation application process differs from California's in one notable way. The Arizona Department of Corrections charges a fee for the visitor application, which covers the cost of the background check...

Whether you need to reapply depends on where your inmate is moving from and to, and the distinction matters practically. If your inmate moves within the same state correctional system, your visitor approval generally stays valid across facilities in that system. In Mississippi specifically, if your paperwork is on file with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and your inmate transfers from one MDOC facility to another, that approval travels with them. You do not need to start the process over every...

When a probation officer files a violation, the case goes back to the judge who originally sentenced your boyfriend. The PO submits a formal complaint to the court outlining the reasons for the violation, and the pending felony charge is the basis for that complaint. The violation itself is the legal mechanism the PO used to bring him back into custody while the new charge plays out. The pending felony charge and the probation violation are two separate legal matters that...

Getting halfway house time credited toward a prison sentence requires a formal legal process and cannot be accomplished through a simple phone call to the facility or the court. The correct path is filing a motion with the court requesting a hearing specifically to address the time credit issue. That motion needs to lay out the legal basis for why the halfway house time should count toward the sentence, cite the relevant statutes or case law that support the argument, and...