[barriefields]

My sister was pulled over and arrested last week. Now she is dragging her *** about getting a lawyer, she seems to think that somehow the court system will feel sorry for her or take it easy on her because she is currently in a form of addictions treatment. And she has kids and in school, etc.

She was released that night or that day with a promise to appear (?) and her car was impounded. We aren't on the best of terms, so she hasn't been really chatty about her charges. I heard from another family member that they were 'driving with a suspended license' (which none of us even knew about), 'driving without insurance', and 'possession of stolen property'. Which I think it must be for a blackberry she had because she has since gotten a new phone. She does have a previous DUI charge and I think that suspended license penalty might be for that. She told us when she started driving around again, that the situation had been cleared up and she was getting her license back. So I don't know for sure if her license was still under suspension for that or this was something new, like she couldn't afford to get it renewed.

Anyway, I have been trying to look up potential fines and that sort of stuff so that someone can show her how serious this is.

[Fr_Chuck]

Who knows what the jail time, probation and fine will be unless we actually know charges, and if it was stolen properly ,exactly what.

But let me see, driving without a license, and driving with no insurance,
About 1000 dollar fine for just those two, about 1 to 2 year probation and perhaps 30 to 90 days in jail.
Receiving stolen property, will she testify who she got it from, and help convict the person who stole it ?
But up to a year in jail, ( most likely combine with above for about 60 days total in jail, two years probation and another 500 dollar fine.

So my guess total, about 1500 to 2000 dollars in fines about 2 years probation, and 60 days in jail

Also if her license was just suspended it will now be revoked.

[smoothy]

And to add what Fr_Chuck stated... I've actually seen several people handcuffed and hauled off to jail to serve one year terms for driving without a license alone over the years in the Commonwealth of Virginia from traffic court. Going to court with a "devil may care" attitude is likely to get her something on the worse side of average. The justice system isn't lienient on people that show no remorse or act like they don't care. But then, maybe it will take that for her to grasp the seriousness of the charges.

All it takes is to have the wrong judge, on the wrong day and to say the wrong things in court to have the book thrown at you. A good lawyer can minimise this by seeing it and knowing how and what to say.