self-representing in court

[PhillyB]

So long story short, I missed a court date for a minor traffic violation, rescheduled the court date on the eve of my license being revoked, and then found out (after getting pulled for a burnt-out headlight) that the state revoked my license even though the court date had been rescheduled.

The officer then wrote me a ticket for driving without a license (even though I had no idea it was revoked.)

At the initial hearing I told them I wanted to represent myself, thinking I'd be talking to a judge that day, but then they scheduled me a court date on August 8 with myself listed as my defense, and then told me I face a twenty-day jail sentence if I can't get them to lower the charge or dismiss it.

Anyone have experience with this? Is this scare tactics? They recommended I have my new license with me to help matters (I have it) and plenty of people were self-representing for the same offense, and I find it hard to believe they toss people in the slammer for three weeks because they accidentally drove with a revoked license.

[Kurb]

Pay a lawyer 500$ to get it handled.

Or get Raped in jail.

 

 

[Doyle]

Your white and you got pulled over?

[PhillyB]

Your white and you got pulled over?

my headlight was dark

[pstall]

A judge won't be as patient with your 17 paragraphs response the way we are in the tinderbox. Better call Saul. Money well spent.

[PhillyB]

Pay a lawyer 500$ to get it handled.

Or get Raped in jail.

A judge won't be as patient with your 17 paragraphs response the way we are in the tinderbox. Better call Saul. Money well spent.

this is what i'm hoping to avoid, if possible. i just need to know if jails are full of people who thought self-representation for minor traffic offenses was a good idea.

[h0llywood]

If you have proper documentation, I would self represent.

 

[PntherPryd]

30 years ago I got my license taken away 3 times within two years and also got popped for driving without a license and "eluding a police officer" (unsuccessfully) and never got anything more than fines or nasty letters.

If it happened to me today though I would be tempted to hire a lawyer.

 

[TheRumGone]

i wouldn't risk it but you seem like a guy who takes a lot of risks so you better good will hunting your ass off

[Jase]

do they revoke licenses now for missing a traffic court date?

 

I'll visit you in prison philly

[PhillyB]

i wouldn't risk it but you seem like a guy who takes a lot of risks so you better good will hunting your ass off

the part where matt damon blows up the stringy-haired pretentious MIT blowhard with page-specific references to obscure political theory or the part where robin williams chokes the jesus out of matt damon in his office?

do they revoke licenses now for missing a traffic court date?

 

I'll visit you in prison philly

evidently so. when i went downtown to figure out what was up the clerk got a weird look on his face and told me i had to go to jail and pay my bail. i was like wtf and went to jail to pay my bail, and the clerk there told me to give him $25 in cash or wait for the officer to come arrest me. i asked him for time to get to an ATM and he gave me ten minutes. i called my buddy and he swung by from work digging change out of his car to cover me and then the clerk told me they had to arrest me anyway as policy. so a cool-ass cop showed up and put me in the back of his car (i didn't wear a seatbelt hoping i could sue but not die) and then took me through the back of the jail for booking.

this black girl in front of me was standing there next to a county deputy and they were talking next to this massive iron door and i was like oh hey, jail's a friendly place! and then i saw she had chains the size of my fuging thigh padlocked around her wrists and connected to her ankles and she duck-shuffled through the door and i realize jail is some serious poo. i sat there for an hour taking jail selfies to send to my friend and surfing facebook (white privilege, am i right?) while the tatted-up trailer girl across from me got in a screaming match with a female cop who looked like star lotutelei (no really i think she was tongan) and a nerdy white cop recited alleged communicated threats from a record sheet back to the black guy who allegedly said them while deliberately trying not to use an african-american style of diction despite using terms like "merk" and "yo ass." the trailer girl and i laughed and then star loteulelei cop yelled at her some more.

the i schmoozed the clerk into giving me an extra two months before my new court date to figure things out because she thought vietnamese thesis work was a kickass thing for a perp to be doing and walked out of jail a free man.

if it weren't for the fact that it'd be on my record and i'd have to miss work and probably get fired, i would totally go to jail for a couple days. poo's entertaining as hell.

 

[Mvp2014]

the part where matt damon blows up the stringy-haired pretentious MIT blowhard with page-specific references to obscure political theory or the part where robin williams chokes the jesus out of matt damon in his office?

 

I'm guessing the part where Matt Damon represented himself in court. :\

Anyways, always best to hire a lawyer.  You never know if that DA has a hard on for 'your type'.  I've seen it before.  I've seen judges try to throw stupid, old cases out and the DA says declines and chooses to prosecute.    

[TheRumGone]

The part where he won all his cases representing himself before losing the on the audience is shown.

the threat of jail scares the bejesus out of me. 

Also why can't I edit my posts anymore? It said give a reason (required) which I did but then it just went back to my post without allowing me to edit it

[PhillyB]

i know i was making a really funny joke