Am I going to jail?

October 5, 2008 10:06 AM

Help me out with what to expect in court tomorrow, especially financially.

So I am going to court tomorrow, Buncombe County in Asheville, NC. I was pulled over for not wearing a seat belt, having an out of date inspection sticker, and then voluntarily surrendered an eighth of pot I had when asked. In Asheville, minor possession is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of something like $250.00.

The seatbelt and inspection, including the listed court cost, are around $145.00.

I'd like to know the following information, if anyone has experience here, especially in this jurisdiction:

1. Assuming all the tickets are kept, none thrown out, and including all court cost fees for all of them, what is my expected bill?

2. Will they offer some sort of PTI type class to prevent the minor possession from staying on my clean ( so far ) record? If so, how much will that cost?

3. This is the most important one for me at this moment. What happens when I cannot afford to pay the total bill tomorrow at court? Do they expect immediate payment after walking out of the courtroom? If I can't pay immediately, are they going to send me to jail?

posted by lazaruslong to law & government (10 comments total)

4. Almost forgot. I have not yet gotten an up to date inspection on the car. Are they going to ask me that? If so, will I be penalized again for not having done that? If so, how much would that cost?
posted by lazaruslong at 10:08 AM on October 5

Lawyer up. I just sent you a memail with a specific recommendation. Seriously, as someone who has tried to make her way lawyerless through the maelstrom that is the Buncombe County courthouse, I very, very strongly recommend that you get yourself a lawyer.
posted by mygothlaundry at 10:56 AM on October 5 [1 favorite]

I am not your lawyer.

Get your car inspected and call a local lawyer. A mildly competent lawyer will:

1. explain that fines come in ranges and use professional experience and judgment to evaluate your case for a potential (but not guaranteed) outcome;

2. discuss the specifics of Buncombe County's attitude about such things;

3. explain the court's specific payment plan system which North Carolina law provides for; and

4. argue to dismiss the inspection sticker violation because you got your car inspected.
posted by GPF at 11:43 AM on October 5

Oh, I missed the part about court being tomorrow. Expect to:

a) pay a premium for hiring a lawyer on short-notice;
b) ask the court for a continuance for time to hire a lawyer; or
c) hope you wind up with a sympathetic prosecutor.

Option c) is possible, but terribly unlikely.

Oh, and if you must represent yourself -- be polite and pay attention to your personal appearance and hygiene. It matters more than most people think.
posted by GPF at 11:50 AM on October 5

If you have not already gotten your inspection tags updated to current, do it today or tomorrow before court if possible. Typically if you can show that you have updated your tags properly, it will be thrown out if there are other fines involved. It's happened twice to me, anyway, but I don't live anywhere near you.

And again, not sure about your jurisdiction exactly, but recently I had fines I did not pay on the day I was supposed to (was going to appeal, but then decided not to later), and all I got was a "failure to pay" fine of $50 in addition to everything else. Of course, my citation was just for speeding, not all this other stuff you have.

Good luck.
posted by joshrholloway at 12:17 PM on October 5

Also, regarding the pot: I don't know what the specific situation was in your case, but for Pete's sake, know your rights when it comes to this stuff next time. This video is a nice little primer.
posted by joshrholloway at 12:21 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]

Since the question is about will he go to jail if he doesn't pay a few hundred dollars in fines, I'm guessing a lawyer is way out of his budget.

Get your car inspected. You should have done this straight away - well you should have done it before you got caught but its too late for that now.
posted by missmagenta at 2:04 PM on October 5

Since the question is about will he go to jail if he doesn't pay a few hundred dollars in fines, I'm guessing a lawyer is way out of his budget.

True enough. Most lawyers will work out payment plans, though. Less frequently, they'll work pro bono. Many -- if not most -- criminal defendants need financial assistance in some form. Lawyers handling these type of infractions usually make their money on volume, so the reasonableness of the fee may surprise you. But, I don't know about NC specifically.

lazaruslong, if you're active in the music scene (as your meta profile indicates) you could try asking around local arts organizations for referrals to sympathetic lawyers. For whatever reason, artists and musicians need criminal lawyers more frequently than the general population.
posted by GPF at 3:37 PM on October 5

Get a lawyer!

and then voluntarily surrendered an eighth of pot I had when asked.

VERY VERY STUPID!

How to behave when interacting with the police:

http://freiheitsforum.com/read.php?2,14907
posted by yoyo_nyc at 5:04 PM on October 5

I really don't know if surrendering the eighth was very very stupid. He said he could smell it, which was true, and said that if I did not voluntarily surrender it, he had probable cause to bring out the dogs and find it. I thought that since Asheville was lax about minor posession, it was a better idea.

Anyways, thanks for the advice. I'm going to ask for a public defender tomorrow, in the hopes that will allow a delay of my having to pay the fees until I get paid again. I'll let ya know how it goes.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:59 PM on October 5