Please I need help and advice

[Sum1Uno]

What is the name of your state? Virginia (Cheaspeake)

Please I need legal advice. Here is what happened:

On this past Friday I had gotten pulled over by a Chesapeake City Officer. And his reason for pulling me was because the car that I was driving, my boyfriend’s, had an expired state inspection on it. Now when I gave the Officer my driver’s licence and the registration for the car. He asked me who’s car is this and I told him that it is my boyfriend’s car, that I am borrowing it because I sold mine before I moved down here to Virginia from New York. So after he took my New York driver’s license and did a check on my record, he had came back and told me that my license is suspended in both New York, due to no insurance, and down here in Virginia due to unpaid tickets and he also said that I had gotten these tickets while living here in Virginia, but really when I did get the tickets I was still living in New York and I had gotten two speeding tickets while I came down to Virginia on vacation months before I even moved down, and he also said that I have a Virginia driver’s license, to which I do not, I only have a Virginia ID card. When I told him that my boyfriend had paid the tickets for me, and that I did not know that my license was suspended and that I do not have a Virginia driver’s license he told me to stop lying to him. And I politely told him that I wasn’t. Well he had written me 3 summons to go to court, one for a suspended driver’s license, one for no liability insurance, and the last one for an expired state inspection.

Now after my boyfriend’s friends picked me and the car up, my boyfriend took the car to get inspected. I had also called my mom in New York to see if she had received any mail for me since I had moved, and she said that I did not. So the state of New York never informed me that my driver’s license had been suspended. Now like I said before I had sold my old car back in October of 2006. As for my insurance after my ex and I spilt and he stole over $20,000 from me, his uncle said that rather than me taking my ex to court he would pay for my auto insurance, because he was my agent at the time. So I had agreed to that. So even if he didn’t pay for my insurance I would have never received a bill, letter or statement. And this agreement was made in late November of 2005. Now I would have thought that if my license was suspended due to no insurance that the 3 tickets that I had gotten after that agreement would have shown that. I had my first ticket on December 17, 2005 for having a headlight out in New York, my second ticket was in February 2006 for speeding in Virginia and my third ticket was March 14, 2006 for speeding again in Virginia. Yes I will admit that I do not have insurance now, because I do not have a car, so how can I have insurance with out having a car? I had even asked local agents about that, and they informed me that as long as the person who owns the car has liability insurance on the car than I am covered. And my boyfriend does have liability insurance on his second car.

So now I have to go to court and I am scared that I am going to have to go to jail. And I do not know what to do. I will be starting a job as of August 27 and than I have a court hearing on September 19. I have been sitting here since Friday morning doing nothing but crying and worrying about what I can do, and what is going to happen at court. I was told that it would be in my best intrust to hire an attorney, but I don’t have any money and I doubt that any attorney will accept a payment plan. I just really don’t know what to do, I don’t want to go to jail and loose everything that I have worked so hard for. I swear I HAD NO CLUE THAT MY LICENSE WAS SUSPEND. Besides my 3 tickets that I had gotten in the past, I have NEVER broken any laws, I just really don’t know what to do and I really need some advice or an attorney that is willing to work with me on payments. Please I really really need some help.What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state?

[The Occultist]

Heh, you will not be going to jail over these very minor infractions.

Become compliant on all counts, and bring proof of it to court, and you may see a reduction in your fines.

[FlyingRon]

Driving while suspended is a serious charge here. Occultist's suggestions are a good start. I'd seriously consider a lawyer in the jurisdiction whose court you are to appear. The judge will usually suggest this at the first appearance and make you explicitly waive counsel if you decide to procede without it.