Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

iam on informal probation for a misdemeanor vandalism charge. as i recall at my last hearing my public defender told me i still have retained some of my rights and one of those being the right not to be searched by officers. i was with a friend of mine in his vehicle and he was approached by an officer who said he had recieved a tip that there appeared to be a child and mother living out of the car in the parking lot and he needed to do a welfare check on the child. they asked my friend if they could search his vehicle and he said no he didnt feel they had reason to. after taking our names down the officer walked to his car and spoke with dispatch. he then returned and said that he was going to search his car because i was on probation and that dispatch told him it was "searchable". i do not report to an probation officer so where do i go to get copies of my conditions of probation?


Asked on 7/08/10, 3:49 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

Your probation terms will be in the court minutes, at the very least. You should be able to go to the clerk's office at the courthouse where you were sentenced and get the terms of your sentencing and probation.

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Answered on 7/08/10, 7:27 pm
Brian McGinity McGinity Law Office

It seems, from your description, that you were placed on "informal probation." This essentially means you have to abide by the terms & conditions of your probation but you do not report to a probation officer. Informal probation can be "searchable" or "non-searchable." Generally, public defenders are good attorneys they just don't have a lot of time to devote to anyone single case. I suggest you check the court file, as Mr. Roach, has suggested. The Judge fills out some forms while sentencing someone and the terms & conditions of your probation will be on one of those forms. The form is called a minute order. It is not uncommon for someone to get confused between searchable and non-searchable. However, it is also not uncommon for law enforcement to advantage of these types of situations. So I strongly suggest you check either your records or the court file at the courthouse where you went through the process.

Good luck,

Brian McGinity

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Answered on 7/09/10, 3:27 pm


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