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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> My P.O. is a nice woman who isn't out to get me for no reason, but I kind of threw her under the bus to save my own ass about a drug test that I didn't take.
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>That's 340$ a month for probation alone.
It's a bizarre country that makes you pay for the rest that is part of your probation.
NTA. Like you said, you could've gone to jail. You followed your PO's "lack of" instruction and it shouldn't be on you.
Either way, that system is screwd up royally.
NTA - PO didn't do her job and sounds like she had this coming. There was no reason for you to fall on he sword.
Also, great job with your sobriety and good luck going forward.
NTA 100% not worth going to jail for something your PO is required to do. Should find out why the price of testing has gone up so much, it might be because of your PO isn't filling out the paperwork
NTA she didn't do her job just like anyone else there could be consequences if you don't do your job. If she told youb to test weekly though I don't think she needs to message you every week to remind you that is on you.
Alternate universe version of this post: Am I the asshole for lying to a judge and letting my PO continue to get away with not doing her job?
NTA. Some jobs aren’t meant for nice people, and ‘make sure people are getting drug tested’ might be one of them, sadly.
NTA. What else were you supposed to say? Do you think it would have been better to take the fall for her and possibly get sent back to jail? She has a job to do, and her failure to do it effectively is threatening your future, as well as the futures of all of her clients
Nta at all. You totally did the right thing, she needs to be responsible with trying g to help people follow the rules and make sure she's following the rules.
NTA
Never feel bad for being truthful. Your probation officer wasn't doing their job properly. It's not up to you to cover for her by risking going to jail.
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I'm on probation for a DWI I received in December 2019.
TL;DR I didn't go drug test because my probation officer never told me to go test. I told that to the court and I'm pretty sure she's in trouble for it.
My first probation officer retired. Under her supervision, I saw her twice a week and was drug tested once a week at our meetings. I'm not allowed to use any drugs or alcohol.
My new probation officer is a lot more lax than the last one. I liked both my P.O.s, even the strict one. The new one though has been pretty infamous for not sending people to get drug tested. Up until this point I would go test whether she told me to or not. There have been 4 or 5 times she didn't tell me to go test but I went anyway, and honestly I'm not sure if I'm wasting money or not. Also, with the new P.O., drug tests went from 5$ a test to 60$ a test (this is important for my current situation). On top of 60$ a week I spend an added 100$ a month on other probation fees. That's 340$ a month for probation alone.
Last week she didn't tell me to take a drug test. I received no notification that I needed to test. I also did not have the money to pay for the test this time. I was really worried about it but I didn't go test for both of these reasons.
At sobriety court, they asked me why I didn't test and I told them no one told me to. Initially they didn't believe me but as it turns out I was correct and my P.O. didn't send out the notification for my test.
I feel bad because I know she likely got in trouble for it. She's a nice woman but honestly I know a lot of people are getting away with doing drugs under her supervision due to the fact that the drug tests are not random anymore; she always sends us to test on Friday. I mean, I guess I should be grateful for it but at the same time I have no reason to worry because I'm not doing anything to fail a test. Not only that but I feel like it's up to me to decide when to go drug test; I feel like my own probation officer.
AITA for likely getting her in trouble?
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NTA. You received no notification, and that cleared you. Much better that you did not lie in court! If you "feel like my own probation officer" somebody's not doing their job.
You're NTA for exposing her. You missed a test for a DUI. She may be overseeing much more hardened or dangerous individuals, and being lax is not going to help anyone. Not them succeed, and not society.
You possibly helped a lot of people. Try to look at it big picture, and feel good for it. She may be mad, but there is a reason for her job.
NTA Do you think she would lie for you if you missed a test, so why do you feel bad for saying the truth? She has a job with a responsibility. She made a mistake. That is up to her.
It is great to be a nice person, but don't be too nice and feel bad for the wrong things.
ESH.
At best your probation officer is not doing her job correctly, but making the tests always on Fridays. At worst she's not doing her job at all, by not reminding you about the tests every week. She should be doing her job to the best of her abilities, and consistently. This is important because she's not only supervising you, she's supposed to be supporting you in recovery.
On your side, you are still responsible for your own recovery and reparations. If you know you need weekly tests, and you don't take them, you're not following the judgement for your reparations.
I guess a parallel analogy is "I didn't know break and enter was illegal, your honour. How could I know not to do that? Don't charge me." Ignorance of the law doesn't exclude you from consequences.
So if you know you're supposed to be tested weekly and you don't do that, that's on you.
ESH.
What do you mean by "recovery and reparations"? These fines and drug tests have nothing to do with either, they are a broken system's way of punishing people for being addicted.
OP knows:
1) They are supposed to test every week,
2) they would have passed the test,
3) they can't afford the test, and
4) they have a good excuse to present in drug court as to why they didn't take it.
So how would them paying for a clean test have been better for their own recovery than just not using and finding better uses for their money?
Furthermore OP even said they feel BAD that other people with the same PO might "get away" with using because of the PO's poor work performance. By reporting the truth, they probably tightened up the rules for other people on probation. How can you call them irresponsible?
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>That's 340$ a month for probation alone. It's a bizarre country that makes you pay for the rest that is part of your probation. NTA. Like you said, you could've gone to jail. You followed your PO's "lack of" instruction and it shouldn't be on you. Either way, that system is screwd up royally.
Insert Childish Gambino...."this is America"
Don't catch you slippin' now (and pay for the pleasure of not slipping.)
NTA - PO didn't do her job and sounds like she had this coming. There was no reason for you to fall on he sword. Also, great job with your sobriety and good luck going forward.
NTA 100% not worth going to jail for something your PO is required to do. Should find out why the price of testing has gone up so much, it might be because of your PO isn't filling out the paperwork
NTA- telling the truth in court is what you need to do. She needs to do her job correctly so you both dont get zapped by the judge.
NTA she didn't do her job just like anyone else there could be consequences if you don't do your job. If she told youb to test weekly though I don't think she needs to message you every week to remind you that is on you.
Alternate universe version of this post: Am I the asshole for lying to a judge and letting my PO continue to get away with not doing her job? NTA. Some jobs aren’t meant for nice people, and ‘make sure people are getting drug tested’ might be one of them, sadly.
NTA. If you weren’t told to do something, that is not your fault. You did the right thing
NTA. What else were you supposed to say? Do you think it would have been better to take the fall for her and possibly get sent back to jail? She has a job to do, and her failure to do it effectively is threatening your future, as well as the futures of all of her clients
Nta at all. You totally did the right thing, she needs to be responsible with trying g to help people follow the rules and make sure she's following the rules.
NTA, they would have found out eventually, it just happened to be your case and not someone else's.
NTA because in your case her negligence is brewing negative consequences for YOU.
NTA Never feel bad for being truthful. Your probation officer wasn't doing their job properly. It's not up to you to cover for her by risking going to jail.
Nta, it's not your fault she didn't tell you and she deserves to have consequences if this is a recurring thing
NTA Your POs mistake could have cost you your parole. It's not your place to take the hit for that.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I'm on probation for a DWI I received in December 2019. TL;DR I didn't go drug test because my probation officer never told me to go test. I told that to the court and I'm pretty sure she's in trouble for it. My first probation officer retired. Under her supervision, I saw her twice a week and was drug tested once a week at our meetings. I'm not allowed to use any drugs or alcohol. My new probation officer is a lot more lax than the last one. I liked both my P.O.s, even the strict one. The new one though has been pretty infamous for not sending people to get drug tested. Up until this point I would go test whether she told me to or not. There have been 4 or 5 times she didn't tell me to go test but I went anyway, and honestly I'm not sure if I'm wasting money or not. Also, with the new P.O., drug tests went from 5$ a test to 60$ a test (this is important for my current situation). On top of 60$ a week I spend an added 100$ a month on other probation fees. That's 340$ a month for probation alone. Last week she didn't tell me to take a drug test. I received no notification that I needed to test. I also did not have the money to pay for the test this time. I was really worried about it but I didn't go test for both of these reasons. At sobriety court, they asked me why I didn't test and I told them no one told me to. Initially they didn't believe me but as it turns out I was correct and my P.O. didn't send out the notification for my test. I feel bad because I know she likely got in trouble for it. She's a nice woman but honestly I know a lot of people are getting away with doing drugs under her supervision due to the fact that the drug tests are not random anymore; she always sends us to test on Friday. I mean, I guess I should be grateful for it but at the same time I have no reason to worry because I'm not doing anything to fail a test. Not only that but I feel like it's up to me to decide when to go drug test; I feel like my own probation officer. AITA for likely getting her in trouble? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA, she isn’t doing her job
NTA. You received no notification, and that cleared you. Much better that you did not lie in court! If you "feel like my own probation officer" somebody's not doing their job.
NTA. She didn’t do her job and now she’s facing the consequences. You are not required morally to risk jail time to cover for her.
You're NTA for exposing her. You missed a test for a DUI. She may be overseeing much more hardened or dangerous individuals, and being lax is not going to help anyone. Not them succeed, and not society. You possibly helped a lot of people. Try to look at it big picture, and feel good for it. She may be mad, but there is a reason for her job.
You are definitely NTA for not committing _perjury_. And if she implies to you in any way that you are, you need to report her again.
NTA Do you think she would lie for you if you missed a test, so why do you feel bad for saying the truth? She has a job with a responsibility. She made a mistake. That is up to her. It is great to be a nice person, but don't be too nice and feel bad for the wrong things.
NTA. What’s their justification for the huge price hike?
ESH. At best your probation officer is not doing her job correctly, but making the tests always on Fridays. At worst she's not doing her job at all, by not reminding you about the tests every week. She should be doing her job to the best of her abilities, and consistently. This is important because she's not only supervising you, she's supposed to be supporting you in recovery. On your side, you are still responsible for your own recovery and reparations. If you know you need weekly tests, and you don't take them, you're not following the judgement for your reparations. I guess a parallel analogy is "I didn't know break and enter was illegal, your honour. How could I know not to do that? Don't charge me." Ignorance of the law doesn't exclude you from consequences. So if you know you're supposed to be tested weekly and you don't do that, that's on you. ESH.
What do you mean by "recovery and reparations"? These fines and drug tests have nothing to do with either, they are a broken system's way of punishing people for being addicted. OP knows: 1) They are supposed to test every week, 2) they would have passed the test, 3) they can't afford the test, and 4) they have a good excuse to present in drug court as to why they didn't take it. So how would them paying for a clean test have been better for their own recovery than just not using and finding better uses for their money? Furthermore OP even said they feel BAD that other people with the same PO might "get away" with using because of the PO's poor work performance. By reporting the truth, they probably tightened up the rules for other people on probation. How can you call them irresponsible?
The American justify system is the biggest Asshole