misrepresentation???????

[lanse69]

i got pulled over thanksgiving weekend of 1998 for dui. Since then the court date has been pushed out 3-4 times. we finally got a date set and i showed up to court with counsel, the state was 'unprepared' (the officer wasnt present besides the prosecutor not being ready) in a previous post it stated the court(can postpone)but must dismiss if the officer isnt present. Is that correct with a dui(in indiana)???????? i fear im being misrepresented.

also, on the court date the judge harshly reprimanded 3-4 of the previouse defendants for not being 'prepared' and with my case the state is unprepared. The judge said he would decide later that day or the following day(as to throw the case or not) . A week and a half later my attorney sends me a letter of the court date. It seems sad that there are such double standards in place.
Anyways-- Could i bring up to the judge(tactfully) that the state should be responsible for my attorneys fees(for the last court date) since it was no fault of mine for the delay of judgment! or should i bite the bullet for fear of a harsher judgment???????????

also, after 2 years must a case be dismissed??? because my attorney stated that more than likely this would happen.

1 last ? -- so far, after the next court date i will have put up over $3000.00.
is this reasonable for a first offense or am i being had????????

any information would be greatly appreciated.

i thank you for your time.


lanse

 

[msattorney]

Unfortunately, the judge can yell at defendants for not being prepared but can give the prosecution extra time. I think maybe your lawyer is right that the case may be dismissed because of the long time period since it happened. I do not know what the rules are in IN about adjudication time frames. You could contact the local bar association or go to your local law library to see if they have the answer. The bar association can tell you whether the $3000 you have paid is reasonable or not. Again, fees vary from place to place.