What to do?

[jen0418]

What is the name of your state PA (only U.S. law)?
I live in PA.
I was at my friend's house with my another friend. when We left the house, I was NOT in drivers side. I have 2 witness.(house owner and his girl friend) My another friend was driving and got in accident. She asked me to tell cops that I was driving, because she is on pro and already have 2 DUI. I said no to her, she started beating my head with my cell phone, so I had to get out the car. She locked the car from inside and moved my Perth and shoes to driving side and called 911. When cops found me, I was outside of the car. She was my friend so I wanted help her,but I didn't want to say that I was driving, so at the hospital, I tried to tell cop that there was 3rd person was there, but I couldn't make up any stories, and my stories didn't make any sense. Cop told me that he was going to take my green card away, and put me in the jail. Now I am facing DUI that I wasn't even driving. I talked an attorney he said cop and my friend's story matches, so nobody is going to believe my story even I have 2 witness, so I plea guilty for this case but I still want to fight for this, I just don't have a lot of money.

[paguy88]

Originally Posted by jen0418

What is the name of your state PA (only U.S. law)?
I live in PA.
I was at my friend's house with my another friend. when We left the house, I was NOT in drivers side. I have 2 witness.(house owner and his girl friend) My another friend was driving and got in accident. She asked me to tell cops that I was driving, because she is on pro and already have 2 DUI. I said no to her, she started beating my head with my cell phone, so I had to get out the car. She locked the car from inside and moved my Perth and shoes to driving side and called 911. When cops found me, I was outside of the car. She was my friend so I wanted help her,but I didn't want to say that I was driving, so at the hospital, I tried to tell cop that there was 3rd person was there, but I couldn't make up any stories, and my stories didn't make any sense. Cop told me that he was going to take my green card away, and put me in the jail. Now I am facing DUI that I wasn't even driving. I talked an attorney he said cop and my friend's story matches, so nobody is going to believe my story even I have 2 witness, so I plea guilty for this case but I still want to fight for this, I just don't have a lot of money.

i dont know what to tell you..

except you so caleld friend does not sound much like a friend to me...

I would chose better friends in the future.

[CavemanLawyer]

If you didn't do it than why the hell would you plea guilty? I don't care if you don't have money for a good attorney, hire what you can or have one appointed if you are indigent. Pleading to a crime that you did not commit is ludicrous.

[RatPackLar]

You need a lawyer and and he will need more then just word of mouth, to give you any credible advice.

A few things come to mind here to just consider:

You said she locked the car from the inside, does that mean she was inside the car while you were outside the car when the cops arrived? They have hit DUI, on people sleeping in cars, using the actual physical control of the vehicle at time of arrest assumption. If she was inside, and you were outside, this may help your case.

The question to the police in a challenge would be, have you ever arrested a driver sitting in a car, not driving, for DUI, under the assumption of physical control of the vehicle. They are gonna say yes, it happens all the time.

They I ask girl A was in the car, she owns it, she has priors, she is on probation what lead you to belive that girl B, who does not own the car, does not have prior DUI's, (if you don't), as was not inside the vehicle, was actally driving the vehicle at the time of the accident? Again just food for though here to consider.

If she was, it could be inferred that she was in fact driving has prior DUI's and lied to the police. Her priors could lead a person to belive that she had more motivation to lie about it, then you do. This could be a big point for your defense if she was inside the car when the cops showed up?

She is the only other witness to this, beside the cops, who were not there at the time of the accident, so you just might be able to damage her credibility enough, which should not be too hard here, as to where the prosecution knows, they cannot use her as a witness against you, and they would not even take the chance. One less witness they can use against you, and the case against you gets just a little weaker.

You also want a copy of her 911 call as well, what did she say to them. Did she say I was in an accident, or did she say my friend wrecked my car, and I need help? You want a copy of that tape, and they do record those calls.

Again, it seems like a small point here, but every little bit helps here, if she said I, that could infer she drove and got into an accident. If she was slurring, and sounded drunk, that could also be used against her, and help you build your case. Get a copy of that tape.

The shoe thing could be explained as they were sitting on the seat, and the impact of the accident put them in the drivers side, again just a thought.

Who ows the car? Her or You?

What lead the cops to belive you were driving, just her word, and shoes, if that is all they got, that could also be challenged. What was your BAC results? You were at the hospital, did they take a blood sample, or did you just do the breath test?

What did they charge you with?

Do you have any priors, DUI? MIP, ETC. Are you guys minors?

Your witnesses may help you as well, they saw you leave, why would they lie? They also saw you both drinking correct?

If in fact your friend is on probation or DUI'S, she is probably not supposed to be drinking any booze period, as that would be a violation of her probation.

If it was me, I woulid let my friend know, that I would contact her probation officer and tell them she was drinking while on probation, you have witnesses on that as well. That may motivate her to help you, may not, but if you are going down cause of her, I would make sure she gets slapped on on this as well. They pop her, she will be in jail lots longer then you will?

Did the cops run any tests on her for BAC? Do they know she was drinking too? Any info in the police report about her drinking, could and would be used by a probation officer to yank her probation and send her to jail. They do not need much to to do that. The police report alone, could trigger this. Then she is gonna have to dance with them and with two DUI priors, and on probation, who do you think they are really gonna belive on that one, her or the cops. All they gotta do, is yank her in, show the judge the police report about her being drunk, and the judge can and just may yank her probation, and send her to jail for a while. Probation is given in lieu of jail time, you do not screw up, you stay out of jail, you do, and they will put you in jail. Again just thoughts to consider.

What does the police report say? Did this lawyer see it, or did you just tell the story to him?

What you really need to do, is get a copy of the actual police report, and then talk to a lawer who speciailzes in DUI cases. This is critical here, as word of mouth is nothing compared to what is actaully in the police report.

Let him review the actaul report, and tell him, your story and some of the things I mentioned here, just as food for thought for him to consider. Then he can give you better advice. He will probably be thinking the same things, and those guys know what they are doing.

Research PA DUI Laws as well, so you know what is going on. Here is a link for you [url]http://www.1800duilaws.com/states/pa.asp[/url]

You need to deal with Penn DOT, the agency who controls your drivers license as well You are looking at two separate actions here, what the courts on the criminal side could do to you, and what Penn Dot, on the administrative side, could do to you. Typically, the DMV, who controls your DL, moves faster then then criminal couts do, again, just for consideration.

Get a lawer who knows PA DUI laws, only he can really give you any real advice, and there are never any guarantees, or absolutes, but he will know more about your situation, and the possible outcomes, then anybody here on the net will.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Hang in there, this is not the end of the world. If you are not guilty, you fight will all you got, you never give up. You wil find a way! After all, it is only you and your future on the line here, at the end of the day, everybody else goes home, whilst you can go to jail.

You have lots of options, as you now can tell, do not give up, without a fight!

There are lots of questions here, that need to be answered, and a good lawyer can help you.

Reaonable doubt is here, and if they, the system, cannot prove beyond a resonable doubt, that you were in fact DUI, they cannot convict you, and if they know that, you now have some leverage, to cut a deal with them, if you have to. Only your lawyer can tell you for sure, and only after he sees all they have against you.

Your so called FRIEND, is no FRIEND, so drop that right there, and the hell with her. Friends should not let Friends drive drunk, but a true Friend, would never let a Friend take a DUI hit, for something that Friend did not do.

So you really got two choices, roll over and take the hit for your Friend, who is no real Friend, or FIRE UP and fight for yourself.

I am no expert, but if it was my butt on the sling, those are some of the questions I would be asking.