Deferred Judgements

[baller1]

Anyone ever used one of these before? I got a public intox a few nights ago and have a court date next Friday. Do I need a lawyer to have one of these granted from the judge or can I just ask the judge for a deferred judgement after pleading guilty?
Thanks

 

[Me State]

Unless you are sure that you aren't going to do anything else stupid to get in trouble in the future you may not want to waste your deferred judgment on a public intox. You can most likely pay a fine and have it removed from your record in two years. Save your deferred judgment in case you do something more severe.

How about you tell us the whole story. Just for fun.

 

[3TrueFans]

Unless you are sure that you aren't going to do anything else stupid to get in trouble in the future you may not want to waste your deferred judgment on a public intox. You can most likely pay a fine and have it removed from your record in two years. Save your deferred judgment in case you do something more severe.

How about you tell us the whole story. Just for fun.

Like murder?

 

[peteypie]

Save it for an OWI/DWI. Pay the fine.

Kind of like playing Monopoly and using your "get out of jail free" card at a non-impactful part of the game. Better to use it at a crucial part of the game.

 

[aute19]

Unless you absolutely cannot have this on your record for two years, do not get a deferred judgement. To answer your question though: No, you do not need to have a lawyer. You can ask the judge and present a short case of how you (ostensibly) have not gotten into trouble in the past, this was a mistake, blah blah blah. However, you're odds of getting the judgement deferred is higher if you have a lawyer present. Lawyer fees will probably be $500-1000 (ballpark).

Public Intoxication and Underage Possession of Alcohol are the only two crimes/charges in the state of Iowa that can be expunged from a criminal record. Play that to your advantage. Pay the fine, spend two years without getting into trouble (parking / traffic tickets do not count against you), and send in a form letter to the (Blank) County Court.

Since an individual only gets two deferred judgements, it tends to be wise to use them for a more serious charge should, God forbid, something else happen.

Don't sweat this too much. It sucks and it's embarrassing for now; but, in most instances, long-term (job, career) repercussions will be almost nil.

 

[Cpech56]

Agree with everyone else on this, it would simply be a waste. I used mine on a possession of mary jane my fresh year and havent looked back since. I did think that after a certain amount of time it was suppose to go off my record and its definetly still there.

 

[ZombieCyclone]

You can have multiple deferred judgements...... I know this from experience (I should note that I've had multiple PI's in the same state in the same year, but different counties and both were deferred judgement).

DON'T plead guilty.

DO plead no contest.

DO ask for a deferred judgement, you'll still have to pay the fine (no contest is not admitting guilt but just saying you will accept the punishment the judge decides)

The fine will be anywhere from 100-400 bucks, and the deferred judgement should drop this off your record in 3-6 months.

Ask the judge if he/she will lower the fine because you're a lowly poor college student and you have no job/income. Be polite, courteous and maybe the judge with be nice and lenient on you.

A PI is a class C misdemeanor, it's like a traffic ticket, you don't need a lawyer, that would not be worth the money or time.

You'll pay the fine, and have to keep your nose clean for a probationary period of 3-6 months. No moving violations with a car and no PI's etc. etc. in that time frame or the deferred judgment is null and stays on your record.

 

[Al_4_State]

For the love of God, don't burn a deferred on a PI. You can get deferred judgments on felonies for crying out loud. To use it on a public intox would be the life equivalent of Nebraska's fake punt yesterday.

 

[dmclone]

I got a PI 25 months ago. plead guilty, and just got it expunged in the last week. No lawyer and it took about 3 minutes in front of the judge.

 

[packattack425]

I used two deferred judgements as part of my plea deal. They fell off after I came off probation.

That was a drunk night...

 

[Cydewayz]

I love the assumption that he'll need them in the future.