Asked 4 months ago - Normal, IL
FlagI am an undergraduate student and on September 15th, I was sentenced to 30 hours of community service for criminal damage to property under $300(I broke a $20 glass casing over a fire extinguisher in my dormitory). I know this is a very bad excuse and I should have tried harder to complete my hours, but I failed to complete the hours because I had a busy semester with school and play a division 1 sport that is very time consuming. Over winter break I was out of town nearly the whole time. The hours are due this Friday. Is there any way I can get an extension? Also, my team is traveling for a game on Thursday so I would not be in town anyways. Can I reschedule it because of that issue as well?
You cannot just fail to show up for court. Depending upon where your court is located, you might be able to contact the prosecutor and ask for a new date, but you probably will not be successful on your own, and you really should be there. If you do not go to court, it is likely a warrant will issue for your arrest. You should hire a lawyer to go to court for you and seek a continuance both for your presence and for time to complete your community service. You knew before today that you had court on Friday. Your delaying does not reflect well on you. Being busy is not a good excuse. All this fuss for a $200 plate of glass. Get a lawyer!
An extension to complete the hours is a possibility but not if you're not there. A lawyer can appear on your behalf though and buy you some time to appear. The judge could issue a warrant for your arrest or, if this is a non-jailable offense, revoke supervision and enter a conviction on your record which you will not be able to expunge.
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