can i pay off community service?
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can i pay off community service?
i currently have 80 hours community service i need to complete, as well as pay to
do community service. i am a single mother working 2 jobs making minimum wage. if
i quit a job to do community service i will not be able to provide for my child.
is there anything i can do to either reduce the time or pay a fee? i just can not
find the spare 80 hours in my schedule. i was arrested for possession of
marijuana and my friend was with me and was arrested for meth. she received
significantly less amount of community service than i did. how does that work?
Asked on February 27, 2017 under Criminal Law, Indiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
1) There is no requirement that all defendants get the same punishment. The prosecutor has the discretion, or freedom, to ask for different amounts; or the judge can, of his or her own free will, impose different punishments. It could be your friend was more sympathetic and you less; or if you appeared in court on different days, you may have had different prosecutors or judges, which itself could account for the difference.
2) You can ask the court to change the punishment--but that's all you can do: ask. There is no right to it. Contact the clerk of the court to inquire into what your options are and the procedure is.
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