I’m going to try to give you all the facts in their chronological order without making a case for myself. Here goes:
End of december 2001: I get my moroccan driving license
January 5th: Arrived from Morocco to florida on a student visa
May: Passed the theorical test
August 21st: Pulled over for driving on High Occupancy Vehicle lane (HUV: misdemeanor). Received ticket for that. I got pulled over at 4:05 PM (driving in the HUV lane is forbidden between 4 and 6 pm). $100
August 21st: Received 2nd ticket for driving without a license (Criminal offence). I had my Moroccan license on me. the cop told me that I could only use a non-floridean driving license for a month before getting a floridean one. $350
September 19th: passed the road test. Got a temporary driving license.
Today, I called one of the specialized lawfirms that sent me mail before I received the court order (they obtained information somehow) and I was told that driving without a license is a criminal offense and that I could go to jail for that. They also asked for $900 to represent me…(I don’t have that kind of money)
Sidenote: the cop who pulled me over told me that the charge for driving without a license would [probably?] be waived if I came to court with a florida license.
So there you have it. I can (and will) get a lawyer for the misdemeanor ($39 + fees) but I really don’t want to spend $900 to get defended on the criminal case. I would have to take a loan and I’m a poor student. But if it’s the only way out of jail, I’ll have to…
Of course, I will call more specialized firms to confirm the gravity of the situation and the high price tag.
In the meanwhile, if any of you has ever been in this kind of situation or if there is a lawyer around here who doesn’t mind giving some advice for free (yeah right) please help me.
When I had been here six months, I got my motorcycle out of the shop and took it out for the first time in the state. Tags were from out of state and expired. My drivers license was also from out of state, but not expired. I did not get ticketed for the license (I may not have been fully forthcoming about how long I had lived in FL, what with the 5th Amendment and all).
I got the bike registered and got my FL license, went to my court date, and got the bulk of the fines tossed out when I showed my paperwork.
My personal and very non-transferrable opinion is - forget the shyster ambulance chaser. Please standby, I will ask my lawyer buddy and hopefully give some more knowledgable anectdotal words.
Since you got the temporary license, go to court with it. The officer is right. There’s no guarantee, but the charges could be waived if you show that you have obtained the necessary license. As to the other charge, I don’t know. $100 dollar fine vs. $39 + fees. You have to ask what kind of fees they’re talking about then decide which course you want to take.
If you are a university student, your school might have a lawyer available to consult with. Such a lawyer likely wouldn’t help you with the charge, but he should know of legal services available to people with little or no money. Also, check to see if there is a public defender in the jurisdiction you were ticketed in - they would be able to give you guidelines as to whether they will represent you.
If you look around enough, you should be able to find a lawyer who can help you even if you don’t have much money.
IANAL, but am I the only one who thinks that the possibility of going to jail for driving (once) without a license is a bit excessive? Or is the law firm simply trying to scare you into using their services.
IANAL, but what Zev said. That sounds like the sort of thing that is done to egregious repeat offendors. You’ve gotten some good advice here; if it were me, I’d go to court with all relevant docs, including the temporary license. I bet the judge will throw it out or give you some kind of fine which will be MUCH cheaper than hiring a lawyer.
I spoke with a lawyer, after c&p-ing your OP and showing it to him.
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE FROM A LAWYER!!!
If you do not have a court date, get to the courthouse Monday and request one. Check the small print on the tickets. Tomorrow is one month, but they are already closed today, and not open weekends. Get a court date. No lawyer needed. Show the judge your new FL license, and it is very likely to be dismissed on the spot. If not dismissed, then a greatly reduced fine. No jail. Tell the ambulance chaser to get back to advertising during Jerry Springer. And $100 for the HOV? You MAY wish to take that one to a judge also at the same time, with the timestamp of the ticket being so soon after 4pm, he or she may give you a break to save paperwork.
(Note: If Ambulance Chaser answers to “Suasponte”, you didn’t hear this from me)
I agree. IANAL either, but I think the chances of your actually going to jail for such a minor offense, given the circumstances you cite, are virtually nil. The law firm is just trying to scare you into hiring them. I would expect that jail time would only be considered option if there were aggravating circumstances.
Certainly you should get some reliable legal advice, but I don’t think you need to worry about going to jail.
What means “temporary license”? As in, you have a piece of paper until your permanent license arrives? In other words, is everything done but the processing? If so, as the cop says, there’s a good chance (though by no mrans a guaranty) the judge will be lenient.
In any event, unless your corner of Florida is very different from the rest of the US, jail time is not something about which you need really to be concerned. Unless and until you are levied a fine that you don’t pay, in which event the authorties do tend to get a bit tough.
One piece of advice. How traffic court deals with you has a lot to do with your attitude. You should be deferential (of course), but competent. Helpless is not good. The judge wants to know he (or she) can turn you loose and not have to see you again. And listen carefully. Few things annoy a judge as much as answering the wrong question. Better to ask for it to be repeated.
IANAL, too. But I have been to traffic court. A few times. My fines were always reduced. Mostly good advice above. Your tickets are for “low grade” offenses in most judge’s eyes. “High grade” offenses are doing dangerous stuff like speeding, DUI, Running stop signs, and the like.
You don’t need a lawyer. You don’t really even need legal advice. Just have all your papers with you, organized, and be ready to tell the judge (concisely) your story. And a lot of judges don’t seem to like jeans. Dress kinda “nice casual”. Preppy like.
It’s very uinlikely that any judge want’s to put you in jail, or the poorhouse, or mess with your education. In fact, if one did you’d probably have a pretty good case against him/her.
Don’t be scared. The court system is there to protect you. Really.
And welcome to the US. I really hope you are enjoying your visit with us.
Peace,
mangeorge
Hopefully this will make you feel better, Gozu. I have to agree with the folks that say 1) it’s very unlikely you’re going to get jail time, and 2) the court will be understanding if you’ve been making efforts to get your things in order.
It might help to talk to someone in your area to find out how seriously these things are treated around there, but in my state (WA), I’ve been to what’s called a “mitigation hearing” for a ticket (I got cited for failing to have my proof of insurance paperwork in the car with me when I got in an accident), and the judge was very forgiving to anyone who wasn’t a complete screwup. I sat through a lot of cases while I waited my turn, and I saw people have charges completely dismissed (with a $25 court fee), often when they openly admitted what they did, simply because they had taken steps to remedy the problem (for example, gotten their license, registered their vehicle, or in my case, showed documentation of insurance).
The advice about your attitude in court is good. The judges are humans, which means they understand that you’re not perfect and sometimes getting your drivers license can be delayed by things out of your control. But on the other hand, they’re humans, which means that when put in a position of authority and dealing with lots of idiots, they can lose patience if you don’t pay attention, lie to them, aren’t prepared, etc. That can make the difference between a $100 fine and a $300 fine.
As was mentioned by Robb, check to see if your university has Student Legal Services, you’ll be able to get some free advice and they will tell you if you need to spend the money on a lawyer or not.
I wouldn’t trust any law firm that contacts you in a matter like this. You could probably talk to a lawyer for much less. There also may be various nonprofit legal aid societies that can advise you for a much more reasonable cost.
IANAL seems to be an important disclaimer in this thread, but you could also try to contact the Moroccan Consulate, if there is one in Florida, maybe they can point you in the right direction. YMMV though, since Consulates and Embassies don’t normally get involved much in minor cases.
Don’t sweat it too much… but make sure that you show up when and where you’re supposed to.
I was arrested once for failing to pay a ticket, having an out-of-date inspection sticker, and speeding (63 in a 55.)
When the policeman brought me in, he told the other cops, “DPS warrant.”
Everyone snorted… evidently, nobody really gets worked up about such things.
End of story-- the speeding ticket was thrown out (I did receive a stern lecture from the JP, though,) the inspection sticker violation was thrown out after I got the car inspected (had to pay a $10 court fee,) and I had to pay the original ticket plus a hundred bucks or so for failing to pay it originally.
All in all, I spent three hours in jail and paid around $175 for all three violations, combined.
I doubt that you’ll be turning big rocks into little rocks anytime soon…
Heck if its like la county ca youll just do 10 days community service
Heck my cousin was in a hit and run ( he hit a car with a work van in a wal mart parking lot and put down a fake name and address) and he didnt do the community service went in becuase of the warrant and a judge just game him another 60 days to do the original community service
Now here they charge 50 for community service but i think it depends on how much ya have to do
So youll get a fine community service or maybe both or neither
But to the law office that mailed ya … just cheap scare tacticts designed to rip ya off
First, I want to apologize for my lack of participation in this thread. I had a couple busy days and I didn’t have time to use the internet much.
Second, I would like to give you all a big THANKS for your helpful advices and the interest you gave my case. I really really appreciate it. This is pretty much the only place I can expect real help from. I hope I can return you the favor some day.
But I have been to traffic court. A few times. My fines were always reduced. Mostly good advice above. Your tickets are for “low grade” offenses in most judge’s eyes. “High grade” offenses are doing dangerous stuff like speeding, DUI, Running stop signs, and the like.