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Jon

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Maryland

I got pulled over and charged with Driving on a suspended licence, driving on a revoked licence, unregistered vehicle and having no insurance. All these violations are do to money problems I've had latley. I was given other violations, but these are the ones I have to go to court for. When I was pulled over the officer came up to the car and said, " I know you've been drinking, I can smell it". The fact of the matter was that I had worked 16 hours and was tired. I agreed to a breathalizer test which came back .00. When I asked if he had seen me weaving at all he told me someone had called in on their cell phone and said that I was all over the road, this was the reason he pulled me over. My question is where does this leave me as far as proper procedure and with all these charges (which by the way are my first in over 3 years) what type of punishment should I expect when I go to court. Please help, thanks.
 


Litigation!

Senior Member
Jon said:
What is the name of your state? Maryland

charged with Driving on a suspended licence, driving on a revoked licence, unregistered vehicle and having no insurance. I was given other violations, but these are the ones I have to go to court for.

what type of punishment should I expect when I go to court.

My response:

When you're in front of the judge at your arraignment, all you have to do is show the judge how easy it is for you to bend over, put your head between your legs, and kiss your ass good-bye.


IAAL
 

garrula lingua

Senior Member
Before you go to court, try to correct everything that was wrong:
Go out and buy insurance
Go down to Motor Vehicles and find out what you have to do to get your DL back & do it by the court date (orat leat be able to show a good start).

Try to correct everything. When you get to court, see if you can speak with the Prosecutor to show him/her that you are remorseful & have corrected the situation & ask if you can plead to a lesser charge.


The 'procedures' were proper. There was probable cause & the officer sounded reasonable (if he didn't stop a car which was called in for driving erratically, he would be in dereliction of his duty).

Get everything corrected; go to court; be courteous. Remember, you are not dealing from a position of strength.
 

Jon

Junior Member
garrula lingua said:
Before you go to court, try to correct everything that was wrong:
Go out and buy insurance
Go down to Motor Vehicles and find out what you have to do to get your DL back & do it by the court date (orat leat be able to show a good start).

Try to correct everything. When you get to court, see if you can speak with the Prosecutor to show him/her that you are remorseful & have corrected the situation & ask if you can plead to a lesser charge.


The 'procedures' were proper. There was probable cause & the officer sounded reasonable (if he didn't stop a car which was called in for driving erratically, he would be in dereliction of his duty).

Get everything corrected; go to court; be courteous. Remember, you are not dealing from a position of strength.
Do you think I'll be looking at Jail time?
 

Litigation!

Senior Member
Jon said:
Do you think I'll be looking at Jail time?

My response:

Let me ask you this, which should, by itself, answer your question. Do you know how to play checkers? If not, you'll become an expert.


IAAL
 

Jon

Junior Member
Litigation! said:
My response:

Let me ask you this, which should, by itself, answer your question. Do you know how to play checkers? If not, you'll become an expert.


IAAL
Is there a reason you are being so sarcastic? This is not something I'm taking lightly.
 

garrula lingua

Senior Member
Some areas are imposing 48 hours county jail for not having a valid DL when DUI, and some are imposing 48 hours for a first time DUI. (4 days, credit at least one for the arrest/booking).

In many areas, if jail is ordered, there is an alternative: private jail.
The city of Burbank, for instance, rents jail cells for about 80 a night.
Many people who are apprehensible about county jail, elect to do this: it's called 'private jail'.
You have to make reservations, and they are frequently back-logged.

If you get any jail time, there may be a similar option.

Go to the court date: that will be an arraignment & Plea date. You can either hire an atty, see if you qualify for the PD or ask to represent yourself.
If you elect to represent yourself, ask to speak with the DA; tell the DA how remorseful you are (don't speak of the facts of your case - that can be used against you at trial) and ask what the consequences of your plea of NO CONTEST would be.
If the DA wants jail time, ask the court to refer you to the PD or give you a continuance to speak with/hire a private attorney.

--Talk to the bailiff in the court. They are usu a great source of info about the usual dispo & how the DA is, etc)---

No one can say you won't get jail time. If you do, and you're in L.A., ask for a future surrender date (you'll come back and do the time a few weeks later).
In LA two people have been killed in county jail recently (racial fighting). Most defense counsel are standing on their heads to keep their clients from going to jail.
Many DAs are doing everything they can to keep from sending misdemeanor defendants to jail right now (& Burbank & other 'private jails' are VERY backlogged).
 

sukharev

Member
The judges may recognize when someone has made a stupid mistake (in this case, mistake was to make excuses for yourself, breaking the law and hoping you don't get caught).

To help the judge, do indeed try to fix everything you can before trial (find money somehow, even though you are in a bind). Also, bring with you your clean record (assuming what you say is true and you don't have any prior violations within las 3 years). To show you are hardworking (16 hours is a lot!), bring in your timesheet, so that your story checks out. Say you are sorry, and accept whatever punishment the judge sees fit. It's hopefully not jail time, just steep fines which you do have to pay (ask for a payment plan at the cashier's window).

As for the suspended license, if you cannot get it resolved for whatever other reason, you can try to apply for a restricted one, just to get to and from work.

Good luck.
 

fairisfair

Senior Member
garrula lingua said:
Some areas are imposing 48 hours county jail for not having a valid DL when DUI, and some are imposing 48 hours for a first time DUI. (4 days, credit at least one for the arrest/booking).

In many areas, if jail is ordered, there is an alternative: private jail.
The city of Burbank, for instance, rents jail cells for about 80 a night.
Many people who are apprehensible about county jail, elect to do this: it's called 'private jail'.
You have to make reservations, and they are frequently back-logged.

If you get any jail time, there may be a similar option.

Go to the court date: that will be an arraignment & Plea date. You can either hire an atty, see if you qualify for the PD or ask to represent yourself.
If you elect to represent yourself, ask to speak with the DA; tell the DA how remorseful you are (don't speak of the facts of your case - that can be used against you at trial) and ask what the consequences of your plea of NO CONTEST would be.
If the DA wants jail time, ask the court to refer you to the PD or give you a continuance to speak with/hire a private attorney.

--Talk to the bailiff in the court. They are usu a great source of info about the usual dispo & how the DA is, etc)---

No one can say you won't get jail time. If you do, and you're in L.A., ask for a future surrender date (you'll come back and do the time a few weeks later).
In LA two people have been killed in county jail recently (racial fighting). Most defense counsel are standing on their heads to keep their clients from going to jail.
Many DAs are doing everything they can to keep from sending misdemeanor defendants to jail right now (& Burbank & other 'private jails' are VERY backlogged).
Where do you see anything about a DUI, said he took breath test and blew a .00?
 

garrula lingua

Senior Member
fair,
You are right. I assumed, incorrectly, that he was driving impaired (drugs).
Bad assumption. Looks like he was only driving on a suspended DL and got tested for a DUI, not charged.

Jon,
Do your best to correct your problem with Motor Vehicles before you go to court. The disposition should be less harsh on you if you have already corrected the situation. Goog luck.
 

mdljhu

Junior Member
Just to reiterate what the legitimate people have said so far, get everything corrected before you go to court. When you are in court, you can plead guilty with an explanation, show why you arrived at the situation you were in and that it's been corrected, and given the fact that you have a (relatively?) clean record request PBJ (probation before judgment). More likely than not, if you do this with a reasonable judge they will grant you PBJ, which means that you might have to pay the fine, but the guilty verdict will stay off of your record as well as any other possible consequences as long as you have no problems for 12 months.

What county was this in (I'm currently in MD)? Why is your license suspended in the first place, and is it suspended or revoked?
 

Jon

Junior Member
mdljhu said:
Just to reiterate what the legitimate people have said so far, get everything corrected before you go to court. When you are in court, you can plead guilty with an explanation, show why you arrived at the situation you were in and that it's been corrected, and given the fact that you have a (relatively?) clean record request PBJ (probation before judgment). More likely than not, if you do this with a reasonable judge they will grant you PBJ, which means that you might have to pay the fine, but the guilty verdict will stay off of your record as well as any other possible consequences as long as you have no problems for 12 months.

What county was this in (I'm currently in MD)? Why is your license suspended in the first place, and is it suspended or revoked?
This Happened in Queen Anne's County and I was revoked for accumilation of points.

PS Thanks for the help!
 

speed899

Junior Member
Hire an attorney.

Do not think of going to court alone and winning because they will fry you like an egg.
 

sukharev

Member
speed899 said:
Do not think of going to court alone and winning because they will fry you like an egg.
Right... And he certainly has boatloads of cash to pay for one :eek:

they will fry you if you try to contest and win the case, he does not have a leg to stand on in the first place, his only strategy is to talk to DA or ask the judge for mercy (PBJ may be an option, who knows). Again, a stupid mistake is something that can be forgiven (at least somewhat). He will be better off saving cash to pay the fines and getting out as clean as possible.
 

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