Need advice: Court issues.

[fredjacksonsan]

Originally Posted by mellowboy

Well I was going to borrow some funds which isn't much. I just found a Lawyer for 500 bucks. I can pull that off on my own. As for traveling, I don't have any room in schedule to do all the leg work.

Lets just say IF I did manage to have time to handle this situation on my own, wouldn't I get arrested? I believe I have a warrant. It's an easy fix, I know it. I know where to find the person I sold the car to and have him sign the bill of sale. Then just show it to the judge. It's the time that's bugging me.

I only have one warrant out as far as I know of. I guess I can work something out with the school but I have to find out to see if I will get arrested and I do NOT want to end up in COOK COUNTY jail.

Wake up dude. This will only get worse the longer you let it go. "Not having the time" is NOT a valid reason to avoid taking care of it. Be real - you can skip a semester of school if need be - and it would be a great investment in time (which you don't think you have but actually do) to avoid being arrested down the line. Why don't you have the time? What is more important right now than not being arrested? You say that you don't want to end up in the Cook County Jail, but you refuse to take any personal action to make sure that doesn't happen, and are blaming it on the lawyer you paid money to. How long have you given the lawyers to work on it? It won't happen overnight, and I'm sure they have some higher priority things to take care of and will get to it when they can. How can you be critical of a lawyer not taking care of something right away, when you yourself have the same attitude?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by fredjacksonsan

Well the point I guess I was trying to make is that it would be cheaper to travel to have the record cleared, than to hire a lawyer to do it. It seemed that money was an issue.

Well it looks like a moot issue Mike since he does not desire to travel back to Illinois which I can't blame him. If the $500 is for the lawyer in Illinois to work out the mess he is in there then it is probably worth it. Lawyers do not work for free in these cases and considering his circumstances. Only a fool would represent himself Pro Se in a court especially with an arrest warrant out for him in that jurisdiction. IMO the lawyer is his best bet because from all indications he needs his driver's license re-instated.

[fredjacksonsan]

Originally Posted by BNaylor

Well it looks like a moot issue Mike since he does not desire to travel back to Illinois which I can't blame him. If the $500 is for the lawyer in Illinois to work out the mess he is in there then it is probably worth it. Lawyers do not work for free in these cases and considering his circumstances. Only a fool would represent himself Pro Se in a court especially with an arrest warrant out for him in that jurisdiction. IMO the lawyer is his best bet because from all indications he needs his driver's license re-instated.

Bob you're probably right. I guess I was thinking from my own perspective, I'd never have let it go this far in the first place and would have taken care of it prior to leaving IL. Live and learn!

[mellowboy]

OK no one has answered this (unless if I missed it), would I get arrested if I show up for court? Since I have a warrant out?


*I really really do appreciate EVERYONE's help even though some of you are harsh but your intentions are positive. Thanks again.

[freakray]

The longer you leave this the worse it is going to get.

If you go to court, it's very likely you'll get to stay.

[Cmdridq]

You are wasting your money on the lawyer. All you need is a notarized statement from the buyer saying when they bought your car and the VIN number. The fact that you don't have any license plates or registration for the car should be adequate proof that you don't have it anymore. When the IL EPA sends out those notices to get your car tested, they give you up to 6 months to take care of it. Even if you blow it off or it flunks the test, there is a section on the form that you can sign and return, indicating that you no longer own the car, and they will drop the issue. You obviously ignored this easy way out until they finally suspended your plates. You could have been home free for no costs if you had just paid attention, now you risk getting into legal hassles for driving on a suspended license, and paying unnecessary tickets, fines, and legal expenses. Hopefully you will learn something from this experience? You said this happened in 2003, have you really been driving on a suspended license for 4 years? If so, it's likely your car insurance company would not provide any coverage to you if you got in an accident.