If you have received a non-traffic citation forunderage drinking,
fake id,
public drunkenness,
public urination or any othernon-traffic summary offense in Pennsylvania, you are facing fines, court costs and even the possibility of jail time. However, most seem to focus on the possibility of jail time and will do anything to avoid a possible jail sentence.
Once you receive the citation, you have ten days to respond to the Court as to how you wish to proceed. Within those ten days, you must tell the Court that issued the citation whether you wish to plead guilty and pay a nominal fine, or, plead not guilty and proceed with a hearing.
If You Pay the Fine, You will be Adjudicated Guilty
If you enter a plea of guilty and pay the nominal fine by mail within the ten days, you will avoid a hearing and, most likely, avoid any jail sentence. However, the charge to which you entered a guilty plea will remain on your record until you seek to have the charge expunged.
So, five years from now when you are applying for a job, a loan or attempting to enter graduate school, the conviction for the non-traffic citation could show up on your record. When given the opportunity, most executives or human resource directors will choose a person with clean record versus a candidate with a guilty plea to a summary offense. Thus, the nominal fine you pay just to get it over with, may end up costing you much more in employment, educational and financial opportunities later in life.
An Experienced Attorney can help you maintain a Clean Record
Alternatively, you can opt to hire an attorney to fight the citations on your behalf. A criminal defense attorney can assess the factual basis for the citations, evaluate the defenses and plan an attack against the charges. In most cases, an attorney can negotiate a dismissal of the citations and preserve your clean record.
Attorney Frank Walker of Frank Walker Law is a National Top 100
Criminal Defense Lawyer and
Personal Injury Attorney with offices in
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and
Morgantown West Virginia. Attorney Walker is also a member of the
National College for DUI Defense and qualified as a
Pennsylvania Death Penalty Defense Attorney.
If you or someone you love are facing criminal charges or seriously injured in an accident in WV or
PA, contact Attorney Frank Walker immediately at 412-532-6805,
24 hours a day, 7 days a week for aggressive and experienced Criminal Defense or Representation in a Civil Case.