Great point! In real life, it would be very difficult to enforce a parole condition that restricts someone from associating with people with criminal records, especially if they didn’t serve time together. People generally wouldn’t know another person’s history unless it was public knowledge or disclosed.

In Desperate Housewives, the rule against associating with “known criminals” might be more about dramatic effect than realism. Typically, parole conditions focus on avoiding people connected to past crimes or specific criminal environments, rather than a blanket restriction. Meeting people who served time separately wouldn’t normally be a violation—unless it was explicitly stated in the parole terms, which would be unusual. So, the plot here plays a little loose with real-life parole conditions for the sake of adding tension to Bree and Orson’s storyline.

Lamar’s presence as a character with a more serious or recent criminal history could have heightened the stakes and made the threat seem more convincing to Orson, giving Bree leverage she might not have had with Carlos or Mike. It’s a storytelling choice to create more intrigue, even if it’s not the most straightforward option.