I just got sentenced to 3 days in jail for driving on a suspended license. (I was driving to see my mental health doctor, i had no other option).
My insurance pays for inpatient rehab services. I have an addiction to a painkiller I’ve been trying to kick for awhile and thought why not now. Can this get me excused from serving the 3 days?
Probably not, but it would help if you told us where you live (or where you were sentenced, if it was out of state.) Reported for forum change.
I’m a physician with a background in addiction medicine AND corrections medicine. And the short answer is “very unlikely but you never know your luck”. Talk to your lawyer and/or the judge about how your inpatient rehab stint might or might not alter your sentence.
Good luck, hope you get clean.
I live in wichita kansas
p.s. thanks for help
Moderator Action
Welcome to the SDMB, djezzye.
Questions involving legal matters belong in our In My Humble Opinion forum. I will move this thread there for you. Also, please note that as the forum name implies, any responses you get are just the opinions of some online folks and should not be taken as the equivalent of professional legal advice.
Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
They don’t have cabs in Wichita? Pretty sure they do. That would have been an option.
I highly doubt you can substitute your own version of imprisonment for the city or county’s version of imprisonment. But ask the judge, you never know.
Best of luck on kicking your habit…and try not to violate any more traffic laws.
What was the reason for the suspension of your license? Was it somehow related to your drug problem (e.g. suspension of license due to conviction for DUI-Drugs), or was it for another reason like not paying fines or not notifying the DMV of an address change? I would guess that if the suspention is drug-related, it’s more likely that they would give you a break in sentencing.
Based on previous experience (with people I know), I’m going to say “no” - not going to happen. You’re already sentenced. They’re not going to change their minds now.
Just do the three days, No big deal. Heck, in my county, by the time they processed you IN, they’d likely be processing you OUT - you’d never even see a cell. :rolleyes:
Just think of the three days as its own form of inpatient rehab.
I have known way too many people who have been ticketed for driving under suspension. In almost every case, the person took care of the reason why the license was suspended (usually an unpaid fine), paid a DMV suspension lift fee to reinstate their license, and the charge was dropped. 3 days in jail seems harsh. That’s the best your lawyer could negotiate with the DA?
Good for you for getting treatment. Good luck with your rehab.
If you’ve already been sentenced that means your case is over. You don’t have a court date. You’d have to reopen the case just to get in front of the judge to ask for a different sentence. Not going to happen.
Having said that, do you get 2 for 1 (good-time credit) in OK? Will you get credit for time you’ve already spent in jail? If the answers are yes, chances are you won’t spend any actual time in jail. They’ll just process you in, and process you out.
Did you have a lawyer when you took this deal?