Charged with a crime in Utah but don’t live in Utah?Have you been charged with a criminal offense in the State of Utah but have no ties to Utah? Maybe you were here on vacation visiting a ski resort or one of the many national parks when you were cited for drug possession or another criminal offense. You don’t want to spend money to come back to Utah for your arraignment, pretrial conferences, motion hearings, disposition hearing, etc? Good news: you may not have to come back to Utah to resolve your case.
You may be able to have the court waive your personal appearance and have the case proceed with your local attorney there to handle all of the matters for you. I treat these the same as any case, the only difference is it’s me in court without the client. I negotiate the most favorable settlement possible and then present that offer to the client. Certain jurisdictions will allow a plea by affidavit for certain offenses. If you accept the prosecutions offer and they allow pleas by affidavit, you don’t even have to come back to Utah for the plea and the sentencing. It is essentially plea and sentence by paperwork. All details of the plea are worked out beforehand and I’ll send paperwork that needs to be signed before a notary. If you reject the offer, under certain circumstances, it may still be possible to proceed to trial without you needing to be present.
Ignoring a criminal case because, “I’m never going back there,” can lead to a warrant for your arrest and possible driver’s license consequences. There’s no need to ignore the case if you have the option to handle it without the expense of traveling to and from every hearing. I’m well versed in cases where an individual’s presence has been excused.
Call me today to discuss your options to resolve your Utah case.
