can the states attorney advise you on whether you need a lawyer ?

[coverycovery]

i was charged with a misdemeanor traffic offense friday night. if i call the county states attorney monday morning are they allowed to tell me whether it is even remotely worth fighting in court before i go through the trouble of consulting law offices ? i have no previous criminal record \ no traffic violations or tickets. also am active in the community. all this considered would they help me through the initial steps? or just tell me to contact a personal lawyer if i had questions ?

 

[army judge]

i was charged with a misdemeanor traffic offense friday night. if i call the county states attorney monday morning are they allowed to tell me whether it is even remotely worth fighting in court before i go through the trouble of consulting law offices ? i have no previous criminal record \ no traffic violations or tickets. also am active in the community. all this considered would they help me through the initial steps? or just tell me to contact a personal lawyer if i had questions ?

If you had an enemy, would you call the enemy for advice?

As the unlucky recipient of a misdemeanor citation, it wouldn't be your best interest to talk to the police, the prosecutor, or anyone but your attorney.

At this point, you have time.
All you need to do initially is appear in court as directed on the citation, plead not guilty, remain silent, and you'll be given another court date.

After you leave the initial appearance you'll have enough time to consult and hire an attorney.

Why ruin your name?
You are innocent until you plead guilty, or get convicted at trial.
Slow your roll.
Baby steps, tiny baby steps.

 

[adjusterjack]

The prosecutor gets PAID to convict you. He is allowed to tell you just about anything if it's designed to reach that goal.

You would be foolish to act on his advice unless that advice is limited to "Get a lawyer."

 

[Michael Wechsler]

i have no previous criminal record \ no traffic violations or tickets. also am active in the community. all this considered would they help me through the initial steps? or just tell me to contact a personal lawyer if i had questions ?

OK, so you're a good guy and mostly a law abiding citizen. The offense isn't an ordinary traffic ticket, which wouldn't be considered a criminal offense. I'm going to guess this could be a speeding ticket that is for an excessive rate of speed, probably in excess of 15 MPH. So assuming you can plea bargain, what is an acceptable outcome?

Let's assume the prosecutor may make you an offer. You can choose to accept it. But a traffic attorney or criminal attorney is likely much more capable than you are of reviewing your case to determine the strength of the prosecutor's case. It's obvious that an expert would be better than you in evaluating your odds of success in court. And you'd also want an expert negotiator familiar with the terrain, which would be your attorney.

So the fact that an attorney provides you with better representation than yourself leads us to the easy conclusion. IMHO, there is no district attorney / prosecutor who will ever give you advice with a decision on whether to retain an attorney. First and foremost, the prosecutor has a direct conflict of interest. Ethically he cannot advise you at all since you are an adverse party. You will be told the logical conclusion - having an attorney is always advisable, especially in criminal court. They are not just going to offer you "the best deal they can make" just because you're a good guy. And even if they did, an attorney might have been able to determine that the prosecutor was mistaken and a better outcome could be obtained. That's the benefit of having a zealous advocate in court.

You have the obvious answer. Get an attorney for a misdemeanor traffic offense.

 

[coverycovery]

i was charged with nothing other than driving on expired license. i was not cited for speeding or anything. i was pulled over because the officer said i took a turn to tightly to the center line. he believed me when i said it was an error and i wasnt drinking. i was pulled over on suspicion of dui but was not charged with dui and had no alcohol in my system.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

My apologies and stand corrected. True, driving with an expired driver's license is an offense that can carry time in jail. It's still a criminal misdemeanor and doesn't change the fact that your adversary cannot ethically provide you any advice on whether you should obtain the services of an attorney. There is absolutely no legitimate way you can expect the district attorney's office to guarantee you that you're getting the "best outcome possible so you don't need an attorney." It's unfair to other citizens on its face and everyone in your situation would need to be guaranteed the same deal.

Here is what you face - and it is serious. While you may be able to get what is usually provided to other drivers in your position, I can tell you from experience that most prosecutors I've faced may lean more towards doing what they can for those already "punished" by having to pay for an attorney. Some might view it as both keeping attorneys working and also appreciating that the expenditure for what is highly recommended legal representation is significantly impacting financially upon most criminal defendants. Given the penalties below, this doesn't seem something that you'd want to handle yourself. Good luck.

Illinois Compiled Statutes 625 ILCS 5/6-101
Sec. 6-101. Drivers must have licenses or permits.
(a) No person, except those expressly exempted by Section 6-102, shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in this State unless such person has a valid license or permit, or a restricted driving permit, issued under the provisions of this Act.
(b) No person shall drive a motor vehicle unless he holds a valid license or permit, or a restricted driving permit issued under the provisions of Section 6-205, 6-206, or 6-113 of this Act. Any person to whom a license is issued under the provisions of this Act must surrender to the Secretary of State all valid licenses or permits, except that an applicant for a non-domiciled commercial learner's permit or commercial driver's license shall not be required to surrender a license or permit issued by the applicant's state or country of domicile. No drivers license or instruction permit shall be issued to any person who holds a valid Foreign State license, identification card, or permit unless such person first surrenders to the Secretary of State any such valid Foreign State license, identification card, or permit.
(b-5) Any person who commits a violation of subsection (a) or (b) of this Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, if at the time of the violation the person's driver's license or permit was cancelled under clause (a)9 of Section 6-201 of this Code.
(c) Any person licensed as a driver hereunder shall not be required by any city, village, incorporated town or other municipal corporation to obtain any other license to exercise the privilege thereby granted.

Illinois Compiled Statutes 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-55
Sec. 5-4.5-55. CLASS A MISDEMEANORS; SENTENCE. For a Class A misdemeanor:
(a) TERM. The sentence of imprisonment shall be a determinate sentence of less than one year.
(b) PERIODIC IMPRISONMENT. A sentence of periodic imprisonment shall be for a definite term of less than one year, except as otherwise provided in Section 5-5-3 or 5-7-1 (730 ILCS 5/5-5-3 or 5/5-7-1).
(c) IMPACT INCARCERATION. See Section 5-8-1.2 (730 ILCS 5/5-8-1.2) concerning eligibility for the county impact incarceration program.
(d) PROBATION; CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE. Except as provided in Section 5-5-3 or 5-6-2 (730 ILCS 5/5-5-3 or 5/5-6-2), the period of probation or conditional discharge shall not exceed 2 years. The court shall specify the conditions of probation or conditional discharge as set forth in Section 5-6-3 (730 ILCS 5/5-6-3).
(e) FINE. A fine not to exceed $2,500 for each offense or the amount specified in the offense, whichever is greater, may be imposed. A fine may be imposed in addition to a sentence of conditional discharge, probation, periodic imprisonment, or imprisonment. See Article 9 of Chapter V (730 ILCS 5/Ch. V, Art. 9) for imposition of additional amounts and determination of amounts and payment.
(f) RESTITUTION. See Section 5-5-6 (730 ILCS 5/5-5-6) concerning restitution.
(g) CONCURRENT OR CONSECUTIVE SENTENCE. The sentence shall be concurrent or consecutive as provided in Section 5-8-4 (730 ILCS 5/5-8-4).
(h) DRUG COURT. See Section 20 of the Drug Court Treatment Act (730 ILCS 166/20) concerning eligibility for a drug court program.
(i) CREDIT FOR HOME DETENTION. See Section 5-4.5-100 (730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-100) concerning credit for time spent in home detention prior to judgment.
(j) GOOD BEHAVIOR ALLOWANCE. See the County Jail Good Behavior Allowance Act (730 ILCS 130/) for rules and regulations for good behavior allowance.
(k) ELECTRONIC HOME DETENTION. See Section 5-8A-3 (730 ILCS 5/5-8A-3) concerning eligibility for electronic home detention.