Florida and Texas help please

Thank you HGREGO115 for your advice. My next question is after visitng an attorney, he wanted $1500 dollars to try to handle the hit and run in Texas and the forgery charge in Florida, but he couldn't say if he would be able to do so because he doesn't know if the state would let him handle the case. Before losing $1500 in a bad investment I would like to know if you think it is a good idea to try to get an attorney to handle both cases or to try to take care of the hit and run in Texas then go to Florida and have an attorney handle the forgery charge separately (she beieves it might be for work hours added on a timesheet and a supervisors signature she signed when she worked for a temp agency). and if they were handled separately which one should be handled first. My friend still lives in Texas. Also she never left the state of Texas after the hit run, so she wanted to try to have it taken care of through the statute of limitations, technically time has passed already, she's just getting money together for an attorney now. What's the worst case scenario for a conviction in Florida. She said she received at least $1000 but no more than $1500 for the added hours to her timesheet. Thank you in advance

[Edited by Lucille Chen on 06-22-2001 at 12:55 AM]

Hi this is Greg:

If I was your friend, I would take care of the hit/run first. Then I would take care of the situation in Fl. I would hire a separate Attorney in Fl. simply because that attorney will be more familiar with how Florida law and the Fl. court systems work. Local attorneys are also familiar with the local state attorney's office that has the warrant. A lot of times the attorneys know one another, and things just seem to run smoother.
In General, Forgery is a Felony of the 3rd degree. This carries a penalty of a maximum of 5 years state penn. Your friend should'nt have to worry about that though. Florida jails are much too full for a person that forged a time card. I assume your friend has a theft charge to go along with the forgery charge? Did she receive money or proceeds from the fraudulent time card? Consult a Fl. Attorney. If they have a strong case she could probably plead guilty to a lesser charge and take probation with restitution. My e-mail address is [email protected] if you would like more info other then this board