Q: I had gotten pulled over a mile down the road. Cuffed and all. There's more to this story, but this is the jist of it. I plead not guilty, and I plan to get a public defender, I just don't know what to expect. I don't want jail time. Can anyone give me some detail?
A: What is your defence going to be? You were involved in an accident, you left the scene and the police caught you a mile from the accident. What puzzles me is how they caught you so quickly. Either you were unlucky and a police car was in the vicinity or you were being pursued by them at the time. It sounds like they have the case sewn up. You don't mention why you fled the scene, whether you have insurance and whether you were driving under the influence. I don't know what the law is like where you are, but I would say that the state's evidence is pretty strong and there are several things they can throw at you. Not only that, but you can expect to get sued by the owner of the wall if you don't have insurance. The only way to avoid jail would be to plead guilty and look like you have learnt your lesson. Typically judges are more lenient on people that plead guilty and show remorse. A lawyer will only help if there is uncertainty in the case, but from that you say, they have you bang to rights