3rd suspended license/failure to appear.

[mm455]

What is the name of your state?california

ok here is my dilema. i had been arrested for driving with a suspended license on two occasions. the first time i did a week at county the second time i did two weeks in county. now i have a third suspended license that i skipped court on around the end of 2003. i currently have a failure to appear at the orange county court. i was supposed to appear for driving with a suspended license/speeding/no insurance. my questions is this. what kind of sentence am i looking at for the third time around and if i take care of the lincese and insurance prior appearing the judge how much will it affect the sentencing? i have a rock solid job and im scared to take some time off. also will i be able to serve on the weekends? or possibly do community service? please no dissing the posted, im just looking to take care of this matter as soon as possible now. any help is appreciated in advance. thx.

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state?california

ok here is my dilema. i had been arrested for driving with a suspended license on two occasions. the first time i did a week at county the second time i did two weeks in county. now i have a third suspended license that i skipped court on around the end of 2003. i currently have a failure to appear at the orange county court. i was supposed to appear for driving with a suspended license/speeding/no insurance. my questions is this. what kind of sentence am i looking at for the third time around and if i take care of the lincese and insurance prior appearing the judge how much will it affect the sentencing? i have a rock solid job and im scared to take some time off. also will i be able to serve on the weekends? or possibly do community service? please no dissing the posted, im just looking to take care of this matter as soon as possible now. any help is appreciated in advance. thx.

Your only option: surrender.

 

[mm455]

alright a bit of an update. i called DMV and my license is on hold due to failing to show for court appearance. at this point i cannot reinstate my license untill i see a judge. what im afraid of is that they might hold me. all i can do at this point is pay 55 dollar renewal fee that i can present at the court house. i suppose i can purchase non owners insurance without license to take to court? im just trying to make myself look good before the judge. any feedback on the sentencing and community service part of my post? thx again.

 

[seniorjudge]

alright a bit of an update. i called DMV and my license is on hold due to failing to show for court appearance. at this point i cannot reinstate my license untill i see a judge. what im afraid of is that they might hold me. all i can do at this point is pay 55 dollar renewal fee that i can present at the court house. i suppose i can purchase non owners insurance without license to take to court? im just trying to make myself look good before the judge. any feedback on the sentencing and community service part of my post? thx again.

what im afraid of is that they might hold me.

Yes, they will hold you until you can see a judge.

No one knows what your sentence will be.

 

[CdwJava]

This is one of the reasons why my agency follows state law and impounds cars driven by drivers with suspended licenses for thirty days! It encourages their friends and family not to loan the cars out, and keeps him from having a tool to commit additional offenses.

Expect jail time.

- Carl

 

[garrula lingua]

Mandatory minimum is 5 days county jail on a VC14501.1a with one prior. (You have two priors).
Your big problem is if you have probation violations from the two priors.

Judges hate repeat offenders on this charge, because a condition of probation on your former conviction was not to drive without a valid driver's license and insurance. (ergo, contempt of Judge to do it again).

Expect the Judge to be pretty angry. Make sure you've paid all fines that were due on your other cases.

The first time you got a 7 days county jail & the 2nd time, 14 days ? Easy-going Judge; will probably give you 30 days.

 

[mm455]

30 days isn't very comforting. im going to do this in the beginning of march. does having an attorney helps in these matters? how much does one cost and what can they do for me? also, with my two priors i got pulled over both times, this time however im turning myself in. does that have any impact on the judges decision? now if i find a lawyer to be too expensive is there any way i can make myself look better? purchasing insurance for my no insurance ticket would reduce my sentence if i present it to the court? also would i be able to serve my time on the weekends?

 

[Ohiogal]

30 days isn't very comforting. im going to do this in the beginning of march. does having an attorney helps in these matters? how much does one cost and what can they do for me? also, with my two priors i got pulled over both times, this time however im turning myself in. does that have any impact on the judges decision? now if i find a lawyer to be too expensive is there any way i can make myself look better? purchasing insurance for my no insurance ticket would reduce my sentence if i present it to the court? also would i be able to serve my time on the weekends?

Dude, you missed a court appearance and this is your third time? What helps is if you are responsible and adult about these things and show the judge that you ahve learned from your errors. Seriously> That is not harsh -- it is honest.

 

[sukharev]

Dude, you missed a court appearance and this is your third time? What helps is if you are responsible and adult about these things and show the judge that you ahve learned from your errors. Seriously> That is not harsh -- it is honest.

Naah, he is just not sure if WEEKENDS would work for him

I am sure the judge would consider his request very seriously....

 

[mm455]

I am going to take care of this next month regardless. I am not looking for any excuses cause I really don't have any and the judge must hear the same ones quiet a lot, but if there is a way to reduce my insurance fine or make myself look any better I'll take it. Anyone that has any valuable information I can use I'd like to hear it. Thanks.

 

[garrula lingua]

Bad call, putting off your court appearance on the bench warrant.

If you get stopped that warrant will earn you an unexpected vacation in County - you won't have the oppty to cover your bills, get time off work, etc.

Additionally, your car will be towed & stored.

When arriving in custody, Judges do get mad at FTA defendants - expect a much harsher jail sentence.

 

[mm455]

I called the OC court again finding out that there is no bench warrant. the clerk told me that there is failure to appear and that my appearance is mandatory but there is no warrant of any kind outstanding. is this possible? if so what does this mean? in the mean time i aquired an attorney who is looking into my case. can anyone make an estimate on what the cost of handling a case like this costs? she quoted me for no more than $500, which i thought was rather cheap. she is a general practice attorney and i was refered to her to to my suspension is not DUI related. should i consult someone with more field experience? also what are good questions to ask an attorney before paying any fees? thx to garrula lingua and seniorjudge for keeping things on the topic and helping me resolve this.

 

[garrula lingua]

If you failed to appear for a court appearance, the Court usu automatically issues a bench warrant.
I believe the clerk is wrong; ...maybe it is the one in a thousand where a BW was overlooked....


Do you qualify for the PD ??(if you are remanded, you will qualify)....you will need your $ for fines.

No one can say if the private atty at $500 is a great/good/terrible deal.
Only the outcome proves the value of the atty, and who can say if the PD wouldn'tget the same deal.

 

[OHgurl2002]

Public Defenders...

I think that they are highly underrated. They work with the same prosecutor all the time. They know what kinds of sentences are being handed out for just about every crime there is.

I'd double check on the no-warrant. I've never heard of a judge not issuing a bench warrant for a failure to appear. It ticks them off because you're disrespecting the court and the court's valuable time (and believe me... time is at a premium in the justice system).

My suggestion is find out when arraignments are or open court and turn yourself in that morning that way you can get seen by a judge that day. I'd say you're looking at some hefty jail time (for the offense and then for the fta, but a lot of judge will have them run concurrently. ie you serve both at the same time), but you may ask for work privileges. If granted, you'll get to leave for work each morning and have to return to the jail immediately after work each day.

 

[mm455]

you do have a point. i however would feel much better if i can take someone with me on the morning of the appearance that is getting paid to represent me. im almost certain that i'm going to spend the 300-400 dollars for the attorney, purchase the insurance and have a $1000 left for any fines that they might throw at me and hope for the best. i will try to do this the beginnig of march or beginning of april the latest depending on when i can get all the money together. i'll keep you all posted with the outcome, so people with similar cases could reference this in the future. thanks again.