Hi!

So, I skimmed through some posts here and couldn't really find anything that related to my situation.

And I just want to make something clear, cause I don't really care who I offend anymore. If you do not have kids, or been around kids, or if you have golden angel type kids who would never leave your side, stop reading here, I don't want your opinion.

Thursday morning, my son who is 2 1/2 decided to get up early and go for a walk, by himself. A fire marshall saw him walking the sidewalk about 100 feet from our home and called the police. There were cops and a detective and another person there when i opened the front door in my PJ's. So long story short I got my son home and thought that would be the end.

Nope.

CPS called later that afternoon and wanted to come to my home. Fine. OK. Whatever. Come on in. Me and my husband had already decided to change the locks to the type that needs a key to open from the inside. OK CPS guy, says, Fine, change the locks and everythign else is fine.

So, it has to be over now ? Right? RIGHT?!

Monday morning a sheriff shows up at my door with a warrant for my arrest. Contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

I am a stay at home mom with 2 kids and a mortgage. I cannot afford a lawyer and don't know what to do. I refuse to pleade guilty to this charge. What do i do now?

No one says you have to plead guilty.

Plead not guilty. And, although you may not want to hear it, I suspect that your attitude about the entire issue contributed to it being continued. If the way you your attitude is displayed here is the way that you responded to the officers and other concerned authorities that is probably why the matter has escalated as it has. (note--I am not judging you, I am merely explaining WHY or HOW something that seems like an 'accident' has not been resolved yet).

It would be a good idea IN PERSON to express some regret, some awareness of what happened and how serious it is, was, and could have been. Perhaps that is what the authorities DIDNT see that gave them cause for further concern.

Perhaps as a new mother, you aren't aware that what you are describing is NOT customary. It isn't a common happening that children that young escape from their homes at any and/or all hours. Again, this isn't a JUDGEMENT, just an explanation of why or how they apparently found the situation much more serious than you appear to ( judging from your apparently flippant 'its no big deal' attitude displayed here)

The best thing for you to do when you go to court is lose the attitude you have here. HERE is doesn't matter---you can act however you want. BUT you are asking for help? Losing the "its no big deal, you can't judge me, whats the big deal" attitude will go a long way in helping the judge recognize that you 1. understand that this behavior is NOT normal behavior for a child that age, and 2. that you are aware you have a higher duty of care in assuming responsibility for the childs well being. In short, some well timed contrition ( even if it is all contrived) will go a long way in helping your defense. Your attitude will either end this, or DSS will be a part of your life for a long time to come.

It's your call.

And yes, I am not only a mother, I am a widow, with seven minor aged children--the first six being born in seven years. And, even with six kids under the age of seven, nothing like this ever happened to me. This DOESNT mean my kids are perfect---and it DOESNT mean that they are never out of my sight---it just means that what you are describing is more serious than you APPEAR to understand. I don't know--maybe you DO understand how serious it is---but judging from your posting here--which is all I have to go by, you don't appear to concerned about the issue at all. If you are, than good. Make sure THAT is what comes through to the judge---your concern, your contrition, your love and appreciation for the safety and well being of your kids, etc.

Attitude is the key ( not here, but in the court room). Plead not guilty---ask for a public defender if you want. Ask for a jury trial and get continuance after continuance and drag it out for years if you want. By that time several years can and will have gone by and you will have hopefully demonstrated an awareness of your kids well being, person and location--and this will be to your credit.

I suspect the charges will be pled down, and something like parenting classes, or the such will be ordered. I don't think the intent is to send you to jail---the intent is to change your attitude.

Many a speeding ticket has been avoided by the ATTITUDE of the driver of the vehicle in question. Your case is no different.

However, the charge of contributing makes me think there is more to the story--was alcohol involved? What time of morning was it? If it was 11:30 am, then that might give them cause for concern that the child had been up so many hours apparently without being watched. If you want a more accurate answer, please provide ALL the facts--what will the prosecutor say when they step up to the podium?

I am not a new mother, my attitude stems solely from the 6 foot officer with a loaded gun walking in my front door with hand cuffs to arrest me because my son got out the front door.

The fact is, I have 2 kids, the older being 11. NO, it was 9 am, no there was no alchohol. What the hell? There was nothing else. You have all the facts.

Thursday the detective called CPS, after sleeping on it for a night, decided to go for a warrant for my arrest. There was nothing else involved except my son going out the front door.

So, the only advice I get is degrading dribble from some woman who offers no real advice? I speficially mentioned in my post that type of person need not respond. I don't need that. I need legal advice, that is not what GentleGrace has to offer.

YOU HAVE YET TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SERIOUSNESS OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED----and that is PRECISELY WHY the authorities feel they must pursue this----because you act as though you haven't a clue how serious this is, or what could have happened that morning---which translates into a reasonable presumption that at some point, something else equally as irresponsible could happen to your children.

I explained to you that you could plead NOT GUILTY, ask for a (free) public defender and ask for a continuance until you have a chance to prove to the court that you are a responsible parent. I also told you that you could ask for a jury trial, as opposed to a bench trial. I went out of my way to NOT judge you---just explained that what you are saying is NOT a common occurrence. I also ASKED if alcohol was involved----at no time did I suggest that it was. It also matters what time of day it was---such as if it was 3 am and this happened and you were drunk when the officers came to the home. I didn't say this happened--I was giving an EXAMPLE of what MIGHT have prompted further investigation. I also told you that you could plead down and end up with something as simple as probation and/or parenting classes.

You asked WHY all of this has escalated to the point it has? I told you why. Your attitude. Try to learn to fake some kind of remorse, or regret, or pretend to understand the ramifications of your actions so you can avoid jail.

Channel your anger into something productive--like CHANGE. In some states ( you neglect to state where you live ) the charge against you is a misdemeanor, in some states it is as serious as a fourth degree felony. Either way, at least ACTING like you are sorry, or mustering up contrived contrition would go a long way in keeping you out of jail.

I find it very disheartening when someone chooses to publicly scrutinize the misfortune of others. I'm certainly no expert when it comes to parenting and I know I'll never have all the answers. My children have made mistakes and will continue to do so. That doesn't mean I'm not doing my job as a parent or that I don't have their best interests at heart. It's just a part of life. Things happen that are out of our control.

You're absolutely right about ATTITUDE. It does say alot about a person and your sarcasm tells alot about the type of person you are. GentleGrace does not fit your attitude.

I'm new to this forum and came here looking for advice that would help me. Instead, what you gave me was criticism. The issues posted here are very serious and this is not a place for you to amuse yourself just to prove to the world that you are a serious law student.

If there are others on the forum that have further advice that I could actually use, I would appreciate your input. My post is titled Crime Does Not Fit The Punishment.