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Legal Trouble (Traffic Related)
GirlPants
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Back story:
Last night I was driving home to Florida from visiting friends in Atlanta, GA. I was driving my motorcycle, which is a Suzuki gxr, through Valdosta, GA at around 5pm. The whole time I was doing between 70-95 depending on traffic, speeding sometimes. Now when I'm driving that fast I literally cannot hear anything at all expect wind and my engine. I was also very spaced out from the long drive and was leaning over on my gas tank not paying attention to much except what was in front of me. I pretty much couldn't see out of the mirrors at all, nor was I looking. So a cop tags me for speeding and starts following me. I have no idea how long he was following me but eventually he makes himself visible by running me off the road, hand cuffing me and arresting me for evading and eluding. A misdemeanor luckily. I ended up getting four other charges: No motor cycle license, expired tags, no insurance, and speeding. Now I have a court date in a month. I have never been in trouble with the law before so I have that on my side, but I was to be prepared as possible for this date. I need advice on who I should talk to, what I should be doing, etc., to prepare.
I didn't have a license because I just hadn't gotten around to it yet, stupid move. I didn't know my tags were expired cause my license plate says 07-09 and I thought I had to the end of the month. I think I can beat this because in Florida you have a 30 day grace period I'm pretty sure. In Florida you also do not have to have insurance on a motorcycle. And obviously I was speeding. I'm most worried about the eluding one as it could potentially mean I serve time in county jail. I'm hoping some of you can help me figure out a good plan of action for this.
Last night I was driving home to Florida from visiting friends in Atlanta, GA. I was driving my motorcycle, which is a Suzuki gxr, through Valdosta, GA at around 5pm. The whole time I was doing between 70-95 depending on traffic, speeding sometimes. Now when I'm driving that fast I literally cannot hear anything at all expect wind and my engine. I was also very spaced out from the long drive and was leaning over on my gas tank not paying attention to much except what was in front of me. I pretty much couldn't see out of the mirrors at all, nor was I looking. So a cop tags me for speeding and starts following me. I have no idea how long he was following me but eventually he makes himself visible by running me off the road, hand cuffing me and arresting me for evading and eluding. A misdemeanor luckily. I ended up getting four other charges: No motor cycle license, expired tags, no insurance, and speeding. Now I have a court date in a month. I have never been in trouble with the law before so I have that on my side, but I was to be prepared as possible for this date. I need advice on who I should talk to, what I should be doing, etc., to prepare.
I didn't have a license because I just hadn't gotten around to it yet, stupid move. I didn't know my tags were expired cause my license plate says 07-09 and I thought I had to the end of the month. I think I can beat this because in Florida you have a 30 day grace period I'm pretty sure. In Florida you also do not have to have insurance on a motorcycle. And obviously I was speeding. I'm most worried about the eluding one as it could potentially mean I serve time in county jail. I'm hoping some of you can help me figure out a good plan of action for this.
GirlPants on
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I believe because my bike is registered in Florida and I was just passing through that those law do not apply to me. Mainly the insurance one.
Sure having a laundry list of felonies wouldn't help, but having a clean record doesn't mean they will go easy on you. What type of penalties are you looking at?
As far as I'm aware, the registration thing is bs. Get a new one tomorrow and if/when this goes in front of a judge show them that you got a new registration and when.
edit:
Oooo, not good
https://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content42623.aspx
You need to carry insurance if you travel out of state.
You are subject to the law of the state you are present in.
Really all you can do is try to convince the judge that you did not intentionally evade the police officer.
Wow seriously? So they can get me for the insurance thing? That means I would of had to buy insurance just to leave the state?
I edited my post
https://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content42623.aspx
Same with helmet laws
Damn ok, well I guess I'm screwed on that one. The registration thing is BS because it doesn't even expire till the end of the month.
The main one I'm worried about is evading and eluding. Does anyone know the penalty for that?
And yes, you need to follow the laws of the state you're in, not the state you left. Jesus.
Ya I'm gonna call some lawyers tomorrow. The good news is that none of those charges have a jail time penalty i found out. Still could get hit with some nasty fines though.
And I thought that some of those laws would relate to the state the vehicle was registered in instead of the state I was in.
State law=doesn't make a fucking difference
Federal law= doesn't matter where you are
You can absolutely get jail time as part of the sentencing, but you will probably just get fines. You would probably get jail time if you couldn't/wouldn't pay the fines or you were acted like a total douche bag in court.
What I meant is I looked up the maximum penalty for evading and eluding and it's a fine, not jail time. And none of the other ones have jail time either. I intend to take care of the license issue and tag issue before i go. I can't afford insurance nor do i think it would help at this point.
As long as you don't do something incredibly stupid like ride your motorcycle to your court date. Please tell me you plan on being driven or taking a car.
Also, I don't know how accurate this is but on a GA law firm website they warn that "You can be convicted of a felony if while fleeing or attempting to elude police, you were found guilty of driving faster than ten miles over the posted speed limit. "
haha no my whole family will prob go.
Does anyone know free legal advice services or something?
If you go to university, they'll have free legal assistance, though I don't know if they'll touch something like this.
And it's going to be a small one, because it only has to hold a smear.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
Unfortunately, that's usually not the case.
Suit up and hope they are happy that day in court.
unless you talk to a lawyer or a judge about what the penalties are, don't assume you know squat about what's going to happen
Georgia Legal Code:
So basically you are looking at a $500-$5000 dollar fine, and at least 10 days in the county jail.
you probably won't do any jail time, and for good measure they may make you pay the 5k and then some, you know court costs, oh and don't get a court appointed attorney, hire your own!
As this doesn't help you now, you need to lawyer up fast. The Georgia judicial system is not known for being lenient with people flagrantly breaking the law.
I suspect more that it was his out of state plates, it's a well known problem, because you're way more likely to pay the fines and settle quickly than fight it. Some smaller communities in Texas have a nasty habit of preying on out of state minorities for example.
First of all, put some damn insurance on that bike, that way if you lay it down and break half the bones in your leg you got some backup for all the bills. Once insured go register it, and that should be the end of those two charges, as every state I've ever lived in gives you a grace period on those two issues. The evading charge will be interesting, you'll definitely need a lawyer for that. I would imagine a sincere apology and explanation to the judge should at least get the fines knocked down and save you from jail time. And the speeding charge, I would just let that go and pay whatever the fine for it is, as your main concern is getting out of the evading charge. Or at least mine would be.
You need to get your license, update your tags and obtain motorcycle insurance. Even if you don't intend to keep it, just get it so you can show the DA/Judge. Shows that you take the charge seriously.
Regarding the evading charge, you are on your own there. You aren't going to get any sympathy telling the judge why you couldn't see or hear the cop. You supposed to be paying attention when operating any motor vehicle, if sirens and horns don't get your attention then you are being reckless. It's okay to admit you were wrong, however, and that you will take more care in the future.
I'm like you, always behind on my registration/insurance/liscense. No one likes dealing with beauracracy (I can't even spell it). No priors helps, getting through court is like going to church, dress formal, be quiet, and follow directions. I once got out of a no insurance charge because the judge was impressed that I sat and waited patiently for a few hours. You get a chance to dicuss your charges with the DA and they usually offer you a plea.
The advice about not showing up on your bike is sound as well, they are watching you, people get nailed all the time for showing up in the same car to court they weren't supposed to be driving for whatever reason on the date of the offense.
This is something you can most likely beat on your own if you take it seriously enough, but I never take chances with the law anymore, get a fucking lawyer.
The evading and eluding charge is bad. It will haunt you every time you apply for a job, insurance, or a mortgage.
You need to get an attorney in Valdosta specializing in criminal defense law and get his advice.
Unfortunately, unlike many other states, GA does not offer any type of misdemeanor expungement so you are stuck with whatever you end up pleading to.
Ya this pretty much sums up what I'm thinking. I already renewed the tags today. I'm signing up for a license as we speak. I don't know if I can afford insurance... last time I asked about it they told me 300$ a month, plus like a grand to start it. I can ask again. I plan on talking to a lawyer in valdosta, seriously I don't want to end up back in that jail. I was a fucking dungeon.
I'm very worried about all this mostly because I'm pretty broke. I am a full time student working part time. My family doesn't have a lot of money either. I will try to find a lawyer over the weekend, but probably most won't be open until Monday I imagine. Then I hope I'll be able to find out what I'm in for.
Either you're 16 years old with prior moving violations or they quoted you maximum coverage with low deductibles.
Get another quote.
You are getting a lawyer in GA, right?
I'd really like to. I plan on talking to one at least. The problem is that I basically have 0$. In fact, I can't even afford to pay my bills at the moment. Maybe I can figure something out with one, but if the retainer is more than a few hundred dollars I will have to go this alone.
Jesus fucking christ, you are a goddamn moron: a spaced out teenager(or mental equivalent) driving an uninsured crotch rocket, unlicensed, with zero monies. Your actions are so irresponsible I might not get infracted for this post.
You cannot afford a motorcycle. You should sell it so you can afford a lawyer.
Buy a scooter.
Should be able to. You should definitely seek out a can't afford an attorney attorney. Contact the public defenders office for the area where the court is (the court should be able to point you in that direction).