QUESTION
What options does my niece have if someone used her name 3 years ago on an assault charge?
Asked on Mar 01st, 2016 on Criminal Law - Utah
More details to this question:
My 18 year old niece went to court today thinking it was about a smoking ticket she got in 8th grade where she had only turned in her community services hours to the school policeman. When the commissioner talked to her, he said it was for an assault charge from 3 years ago and he has been trying to chase her down all this time and if she doesn't pay a $180 fine by the end of March, she will have to go to jail for 30 days. He also said she was not entitled to legal representation. She has never been charged with an assault or even been ticketed, nor does she go out where this is supposed to have happened. Someone must have used her name or something.
1 ANSWER
Estate Planning Attorney serving Provo, UT
at
Randy M. Lish, Attorney at Law
Update Your Profile
She is not entitled to an attorney if the charge is an infraction which I don't believe it is. She needs to retain an attorney to fight the charge, and then get a recording of any previous hearings, if available. If not available, she will need to work with her attorney to bring in evidence to show that she is not the defendant, and has never been to court on the charge.. If she has appeared, the prosecutor should recognize her. From the information you have presented, I am not sure exactly where in the process she is, and to give more accurate advice, I will need to find out what has happened in the past.
Answered on Mar 31st, 2016 at 9:42 AM