Been in county jail for 2 weeks - help!

[mandyky]

May 11th I got a knock on the door and I was in jail until May 26th. My husband also went to jail, and when he and his dad bailed me out they wanted me to leave town, so I spent 2 days on the bus from KY to Lawton OK (my brother's house).

I have to be back for court in KY on June 20th. I am facing a $500 fine and up to a year in county jail for a dirty house (endangering the welfare of a minor). I have no money, my marraige is breaking up, no job, and my son is with my father-in-law. I need advice, kind thoughts, lawyers, "guns", and money - but I don't even have a pay pal account.
If I go to jail, I won't have anyone in KY - hubby quit taking calls and I think his Dad will too. I have shingles from the stress, and I don't know what to do.

HELP!!!

[newcriminal]

1. Are you serious?

Hubby is an attorney, but only in pa, ny, and nj. He might be able to help, but I don't want to bother him if this is a joke of some sort.

[Heidi]

4. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[mandyky]

14. Serious as a heart attack!

I would never joke about such a thing. This is my first time in either handcuffs or jail. Quite a shock to my system.

[faithnotgreed]

2. this should not drop off the front page right now

mandy
this sounds a terrible situation though i dont know exactly whats going on

i dont know how old your child is or what ky laws are or what caused this to be set in motion but even so this sounds a bizarre situation
please do check back in so people here can get additional information (to better address your request of advice etc)

in the meantime i hope you have access to legal aid or help from family church/temple or friends ....
thank you to above poster for potential offer of legal help

take care of yourself

[mandyky]

15. Thank you for your kind thoughts and words

I am leaving tomorrow for KY and will be seeing my court appointed lawyer and the CPS people. Pray for good weather and keep me in your thoughts. :)

[Floogeldy]

3. Is this your third offense?

[mandyky]

16. No - first

brush with the law, ever.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. I think you might need to speak with the department of social welfare

or whatever its called in your neck of the woods and child protective services or whatever its called and some kind of local pro bono legal aid society: sounds like you need help financially, legally, and medically: not just for the shingles, but also help with getting and paying for a therapist. If you're house was that dirty, it sounds like you have more important long-term issues beyond the immediate problems you are facing.

And in all things related to where the child ends up, one must ask "What is best for the child?"

I wish you luck and I hope for healing for you from all things.

[philosophie_en_rose]

7. Contact the Public Defenders Office.

Many states have free legal services, but they usually won't touch a criminal case. But defendants usually have to take the initiative to contact the public defenders office to be screened for services.

I can't provide legal advice, but - if I was in your situation - I would definitely want an attorney working on my behalf.

Also - if your kids are an issue - try contacting a free legal service anyway. They would likely be able to help with custody or dependency issues.

[Bossy Monkey]

8. Hard to help from down here; hope one of these will help

http://hrw.org/prisons/states/ky.htm
Sorry there aren't email addresses; elsewhere, I found a website and email for the first organization listed, but they seem to be out of date. Best of luck.

[Haole Girl]

9. I thought this might need a

:kick:

Sorry I don't have any words of wisdom to share on this one...except to seek help from every family member you know to have an overhaul on your house, if that is what's needed. Have you cleaned up your "dirty house" yet?

By the way, and forgive me if I am a cynic, you never did reply to the question posed..whether this was real or not(?). It's just that most people that "down and out" wouldn't normally be posting on the internet, you know what I mean? Not saying it's totally impossible, though.

Just curious...and a little worried...and confused.

[mandyky]

17. My internet access has been sporadic

This is the first time I have been online since the initial post.

[RebelOne]

10. I didn't know that having a dirty house was a criminal offense.

If so, they would probably lock me up and thrown away the key. The only ones I am endangering are my dogs.

[Catchawave]

11. I thought of that too...

Wonder what the definition of "dirty house" in this case?

[bleedingheart]

13. for a house to be dirty enough to get arrested....it has to be bad

not just dust...it is typically the result of people leaving human or animal feces on the floors or in cribs....leaving food to decay in the open and loads of garbage...if that is not the case here and this is not a joke, then I would think she is being set up by her spouse.

[Bunny]

12. mandyky, have you considered posting this in the Kentucky State Forum?

There may be lawyers, or people who know lawyers there who could steer you in the right direction. Sorry for your problems.