ok guys i really screwed up, last week me and a couple of friends went up to pancake bay to go camping for the week. i had an online test for school on wednesday so i went into the nearest town (sault saint marie) to study monday night as i needed wifi. on my way back i wasn't paying attention and i was clocked doing 147 in a 90 while going down a hill (57 over) via radar . i was charged with stunt driving and my friends car was impounded and towed

my questions are

what should i do

what are my chances of this being dropped to 49 over

and can anyone recommend a paralegal in the sault saint marie area

The best thing to do is not hire a paralegal as yet. Go to your first apperance date, ask if you could review disclosure before you can plea. They usually will set another date for you. They might just offer 49 over (I've seen people charged with 180+ and get it reduced to 49 over, so its not uncommon). If they don't take the disclosure you recieve and go see a lawyer. The reason I suggest this, is because if they offer you a 49 over on the first date, I personally would just take that and run, and you'd save money by not hiring a paralegal.

UnluckyDuck wrote:The best thing to do is not hire a paralegal as yet. Go to your first apperance date, ask if you could review disclosure before you can plea. They usually will set another date for you. They might just offer 49 over (I've seen people charged with 180+ and get it reduced to 49 over, so its not uncommon). If they don't take the disclosure you recieve and go see a lawyer. The reason I suggest this, is because if they offer you a 49 over on the first date, I personally would just take that and run, and you'd save money by not hiring a paralegal.

i have a summons date set for aug 24th. i was however told by a paralegal that i called that they don't offer deals on the first somms date.

I went with a friend to a first summons date for three traffic violations and they offered plea deal to drop two of the charges if he plead guilty to the third one.

So if you need a paralegal in the future, you probably dont want to use that one!

do i have a better chance getting offered 49 over if i show up or if a paralegal that i hire dose??

No better chance either way in my opinion.

I agree

I would go to the summons date your self and see if they offer anything. If they don't then you can set a date for trial and then shop around and find a lawyer or paralegal.

lawyer vs paralegal??

what are the pros and cons of each

and one more thing what are my chances of being offered the 49 over

Depends on the Crown but average to good.

imessedup wrote:do i have a better chance getting offered 49 over if i show up or if a paralegal that i hire dose??

If I was the prosecutor and you don't show up, instead a hired gun shows up, I would figure you can afford the fine and I would offer less of a deal.

Not to mention it kind of send the signal you are attempting to out-mussel him/her.

Ok guys so it turns out my summons date is on my final exam for one of my classes, i know i can reschedule it but id much rather write it on the assigned date. As a result of this i've decided to hire a paralegal and have them represent me, i'll keep everyone updated on anything that happens.

You can have a friend or family member go for you instead of hiring somebody. Just give them specific intructions and a signed letter saying they can represent them.