HelpSought
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? West Virginia
I've been accused of lighting a couch on fire in the state of West Virginia which is considered a 4th degree arson charge.
I have a couple questions:
First off, I've never been arrested in my life and have done over 200 hours of voluntary community service in the past year alone. The date of the incident was the anniversary of my father's death, and the situation that took place was one completely out of character. Ever since my father's death, my family has been extremely broke and I cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.
The public defender that was appointed for me has not returned any of my calls (I'm guessing hes on vacation) and my pre-trial hearing is coming up on the 29th of December.
So here are my questions:
1) I'm a senior in college with one semester left and absolutely cannot afford to have a felony on my record. I've lived a good life and always steered clear of trouble...how can I setup a plea bargain to get this dropped at least to some sort of misdemeanor?
2) If my lawyer never gets back to me and does not show up for the pre-trial, is there some sort of grounds for dismissal since this is a publically appointed defender?
3) Any other advice would be greatly appreciated...Unfortunately I am a beyond broke college student and cannot afford to pay for a pricey lawyer, so that is more or less, out of the question.
Thanks so much everybody, happy holidays.
I've been accused of lighting a couch on fire in the state of West Virginia which is considered a 4th degree arson charge.
I have a couple questions:
First off, I've never been arrested in my life and have done over 200 hours of voluntary community service in the past year alone. The date of the incident was the anniversary of my father's death, and the situation that took place was one completely out of character. Ever since my father's death, my family has been extremely broke and I cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.
The public defender that was appointed for me has not returned any of my calls (I'm guessing hes on vacation) and my pre-trial hearing is coming up on the 29th of December.
So here are my questions:
1) I'm a senior in college with one semester left and absolutely cannot afford to have a felony on my record. I've lived a good life and always steered clear of trouble...how can I setup a plea bargain to get this dropped at least to some sort of misdemeanor?
2) If my lawyer never gets back to me and does not show up for the pre-trial, is there some sort of grounds for dismissal since this is a publically appointed defender?
3) Any other advice would be greatly appreciated...Unfortunately I am a beyond broke college student and cannot afford to pay for a pricey lawyer, so that is more or less, out of the question.
Thanks so much everybody, happy holidays.