Dear pharmacide-ga;
Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. In
South Carolina you do have the option of defending yourself in a
municipal court of law. Generally speaking defendants typically appear
without a lawyer in most municipal cases where the offense is
relatively minor or the evidence is particularly weak. Depending of
course on how overwhelming the evidence may be against you, you do
have this option at your disposal. However you must keep in mind that
South Carolina takes the issue of reckless driving very seriously and
a conviction can potentially result in a fine, license restriction,
and the assessment of as many as six (6) derogatory driving points (or
all the above).
SC CODE OF LAWS CHAPTER 56
http://www.scstatehouse.net/CODE/t56c001.htm
http://www.scstatehouse.net/code/t56c005.htm
Assuming you chose to defend yourself and lost your case because of
your lack of adequate legal representation, having this many points
applied to your driving record can be quite detrimental in terms of
future insurance rates and you would not doubt feel the sting for
quite some time after such a conviction. Aside from affecting your
finances this type of conviction can also dramatically affect some
peoples? present of future employment prospects or even their
employment eligibility. It is a conviction that you will be forced to
disclose on future applications and though you may not realize this
now, it may prove to be a significant future issue that stands between
you and an otherwise interested employer.
The risks of representing one?s self are many. As someone who has been
in law enforcement for decades I can tell you that many people arrive
to court convinced that their unrepresented interests will be
protected and they will be exonerated on their testimony alone, but
leave court quite disappointed when the opposite occurs. At the very
least an attorney may be able to negotiate a lesser arrangement for
you (resulting in lesser find, lesser points, less significant
conviction, etc), if not help you to avoid conviction altogether. That
said, it is ALWAYS best to have legal counsel in a legal venue, which
is why I recommend that you seek the guidance of a knowledgeable
licensed attorney. Even if you choose not to retain the services of a
lawyer there may be one in your area who provides a free or low cost
initial consultation by which you may learn much more about the
typical expectations and local success rates of cases such as yours.
In the meantime I recommend you contact the South Carolina Bar
Association?s Lawyer Referral Service to see if you can get some free
advice while you mull the possibilities of hiring one or defending
yourself.
SOUTH CAROLINA BAR ASSOCIATION
http://www.scbar.org/member/referral.asp
I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
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