Mississippi denied right to attorney for dui

[tipitoesyn]

mississippi

I received a dui in the state of mississippi and the judge assigned me a public defender. after talking to the public defender i was informed that since my case was a dui that i would have to pay him. i then informed the judge and he said that since his court do not sentence an individual to jail time for first offense that mississippi do not have to supply me a lawyer even though im poor. he said that either i plead guilt or since i cant afford an attorney that i must represent myself. i thought that it was in the united states constitution that every body has the right to counsel and if you can not afford one then one would be appointed for you. the law in mississippi states that jail time can be given. and it is very important to me that i have an attorney because if found guilty i already know i will not be able to pay the fines and therefore an arrest warrant will be issue for me therby giving me jail time. do anybody out there know of how mississippi can deny me a public defender only because the charge is a dui.

 

[Ohiogal]

Very simple. The Supreme Court has ruled that the right to an attorney kicks in when there is jail time possible. If Mississippi doesn't sentence you to jail for a first time DUI then you do not qualify under the Consititution for an attorney.

it is very important to me that i have an attorney because if found guilty i already know i will not be able to pay the fines and therefore an arrest warrant will be issue for me therby giving me jail time.

Why can't you make payments or complete community service?

do anybody out there know of how mississippi can deny me a public defender only because the charge is a dui.

I just explained that.

 

[tipitoesyn]

mississippi ignores united state supreme court ruling

the reason i cant pay the fine is complicated but in short the company that i was working for had a plant wide layoff about 3 months ago and my unemployment check is going to stop coming this week. also due to that my house is now in foreclosure because i have not been able to keep up with the mortgage. i have a son and i have put in over 30 applications and at the moment no one is hiring. i have been doing odd jobs trying to come up with the money to pay the mortgage and still don't have near enough to get the house out of foreclosure. if i have to pay for the dui attorney or the fines there is no way for me to survive without doing wrong. i am a hard working person and i know some people alway say i didnt do it but the truth is i was not intoxicated at the time of arresst and the officer pulled me over for no reason. i need an attorney because if i get this dui conviction i really know that finding a job will be darn near impossible. most of the jobs that i am qualified for intails driving. and who is going to hire me with a dui.

mississippi law for first offense is the following

(2) (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), upon conviction of any person for the first offense of violating subsection (1) of this section where chemical tests provided for under Section 63-11-5 were given, or where chemical test results are not available, such person shall be fined not less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisoned for not more than forty-eight (48) hours in jail or both; and the court shall order such person to attend and complete an alcohol safety education program as provided in Section 63-11-32. The court may substitute attendance at a victim impact panel instead of forty-eight (48) hours in jail[/U]. In addition, the Department of Public Safety, the Commissioner of Public Safety or his duly authorized agent shall, after conviction and upon receipt of the court abstract, suspend the driver's license and driving privileges of such person for a period of not less than ninety (90) days and until such person attends and successfully completes an alcohol safety education program as herein provided. Commercial driving privileges shall be suspended as provided in Section 63-1-83.

as i said before mississippi law for dui does give a person a chance for jail time. if im correct there is a possibillity of jail time based on the law. just because the judge says he usually don't give it doesn't change the fact that in mississippi one does have the chance of jail time. do you feel im correct or not

 

[Ohiogal]

I feel you are incorrect because in many cases unless you are facing six months in jail you do not qualify for a public defender. There is case law stating that.