Hi. This is my first post. My child got into a fight at school, and the case was turned in to the probation department. We got a letter asking for several things, including the ssn of everyone in the house. My husbands aunt lives here and I don’t see why they need her social security number. I don’t even feel comfortable asking her for it. Will I, or she, or my son get in trouble if we don’t give it to them? Why do they even need it? They also want to know what kinds of pets we have, and how long we’ve been married. Why? We live in NY. I know to take internet legal advice with a grain of salt, but maybe someone can point me in the right direction. We will hire a lawyer only if we have to.
Is CPS involved?
No. We were only given an apperance ticket, then this letter. I have a thread on another board and they say the probation office will be using it to run background checks on all of us. Here is a post I put on the other board with more information, and more questions.
- Son gets in fight, school calls us and police, plus kid gets suspended. Police fill out report, and we take son home. We picked him up from school. The cops didn’t take him with them or anything.
- About a week later, kid gets issued an apperance ticket, which we pick up without son being present, that says we’ll need to go to the probation department, and that they’ll contact us and tell us when to come.
- The other day, which is about a month after the fight, we get a letter telling us to come down next week, and to bring the aformentioned filled out form, and kid’s birth certificate.
Since as I said, we haven’t had any previous dealings with the justice system, I don’t know what usually happens next. Will Kid be telling his side of the story next week? Are kids sentenced, and given a PO at this meeting? Will they just take the form and send us on our way, then contact us again after the background checks?
I can’t add to my post but, is there any way we can get the schools guidance counselor to turn over her records to us? My son went to the guidance counselor for help before all this happened.
Get a lawyer. It is really dangerous to trust legal advice you get on the internet. There are lawyers on this board, but they are not going to tell you what you should do. The only way you are going to get help is to talk with an attorney who knows the laws of your state and your specific situation.
As of now, you may need to.
When he got the appearance ticket, I called to lawyers to ask about rates. Both said we wouldn’t need a lawyer unless it went to court. They both said it might not even go to court if it could be resolved through the probation office. It hasn’t gone to court, and we haven’t gone to the probation department yet so it might not. So, we don’t need to yet.
The best advice I got from a lawyer was to never allow the justice system into your family’s lives without a lawyer. The odds are stacked against you. These people (judge, prosecutor, clerks, etc) work together every day. You, on the other hand, are an outsider.
I’m confused. It he charged with some sort of crime? Well, anyway, even without knowing more I would suggest you explore this site (Legal Aid of New York) and see if your questions are answered.
http://www.legal-aid.org/en/home.aspx
He is being charged with assault in the third degree. But apparently it still might not go to court because he’s a kid, and it’s his first time getting in trouble I guess. Plus, the cops said it wasn’t bad as fights go and that nothing would happen unless the other parents took action. Asakmotsd that is something to think about. Thank you for the link and advice.