Utah Criminal Defense Legal Questions

I would recommend that you both plead not guilty. If you can afford to hire your won attorney, do so. If you cannot, request that you be appointed a public defender. The attorney may be able to get one or both of the tickets dismissed, but at least he can take the cases to trial if an acceptable plea bargain is not reached.... Read More

Maybe. Depending on your criminal history a judge may recall the warrant after you make a court appearance (or hire an attorney to make an appearance for you). After the warrant is recalled, you can then take care of the charge for selling to a minor, which also may or may not carry a risk of jail time. For best results, hire an attorney to help you avoid jail.... Read More

Technically the prosecutor can continue without you willing to cooperate. Once a statement has been given to the police that is all the prosecutor needs technically. To be realistic even if you told the prosecutor that you want charges dropped and that you're not willing to testify, the prosecute probably won't drop the changes completely, they'll probably be more willing to reduce the charges or be more lenient when it come to sentencing recommendations. It is possible that they could drop the charges, but don't hold your breath. In Utah there has been a greater push to prosecute domestic charges even if the victim isn't willing to testify.... Read More

The warrant is to insure you will be present in court. Many times the courts will allow you to pay the warrant instead of being in custody until you get in front of the judge. You are still required to go to the court and appear. If you've paid the warrant and you fail to appear you have then forfeited the bail and the court gets to keep the money. In theory if you do everything the judge requires you to do and appear in court on time the amount you paid in warrant should be exonerated to you.... Read More

Unfortunately the police do have the ability to pull over the truck even if there isn't a violation because they already have probable cause because the vehicle had already been involved in a crime. So the have the right to pull over to see if there is anything illegal inside the vehicle or to see if the person they are looking for inside the vehicle again. That being said they still have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the son that owns the vehicle is actually involved in criminal activity, otherwise they just have to release him.... Read More

Most judges will require a substance abuse evaluation to determine what kind of problem you have with alcohol and/or drugs. You will then most likely have to follow through with whatever recommendations result from the evaluation. Because the two citations are so close together in time, you could get a couple of days in jail, but probably not. Having good grades will certainly, but you also need to go in with an evaluation in hand, and a plan on what to do to see that you do not get another citation. That will impress the judge even more.... Read More

There is already a conviction on your record. You can pay the fine, and explain in a letter to the judge why you cannot attend the hearing. That should avoid a warrant being issued, if the letter and fine payment are sent before the court date. A lesson: NEVER plead guilty to a criminal matter just the real guilty party agrees to pay the fine. The ramifications are much greater than just the fine. You now have a conviction on your record. You have to deal with that. You may have a suspended driver's license, and may have to deal with that.... Read More

You are wanted for "fleeing" because there seems to be a dispute as to the facts. Based on what you have said, there probably will not be a new charge of fleeing, but you are wanted because you allegedly "fled" the scene. Your best option is to retain an attorney and turn yourself in; if your friends will testify that you left the scene long before the police arrived, you will not have a charge of fleeing, and arguably could avoid or beat any charges for possession by arguing that you left the scene when you found out that your friends had drugs with them.... Read More

U.C.A. 41-6a-601 gives the speed limits as follows: (2) Subject to Subsections (1) and (4) and Sections *41-6a-602 * and *41-6a-603 *, the following speeds are lawful: (a) 20 miles per hour in a reduced speed school zone as defined in Section *41-6a-303 *; (b) 25 miles per hour in any urban district; and (c) 55 miles per hour in other locations. Most city streets in the state are not posted, but you can still be cited for speeding if you are going over 25 mph, especially in a residential area. A frontage road will have similar restrictions.. You can probably the impact reduced, but you are not likely to win an attempt to get the citation dismissed completely.... Read More

If convicted, most likely you will need to pay a fine and do some community service. But also, you are likely to have your driver's license suspended, and if you do not yet have your driver's license you may not be eligible to get one for a while. It may be worthwhile to fight the charge. Hire a lawyer to help you.... Read More