Can you be successful filing a appeal for license suspension if you can’t afford a lawyer?
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Can you be successful filing a appeal for license suspension if you can’t afford a lawyer?
Asked on January 15, 2019 under General Practice, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You can be successful in that, as much as we lawyers may often like to pretend othewise, the single most important factor are the facts, not the attorney--the best lawyer, for example, generally can't help you if the facts are such that you don't have a viable defense or case.
That said, while the facts are more important than a lawyer, a lawyer clearly helps:
1) There are procedures that must be followed for any appeal; a failure to follow those procedures can result in your appeal not being heard or being dismissed.
2) A lawyer will be able to research (or may know, from his/her experience) if there is "precedent," or past cases/situations, like your yours in which the suspension was lifted and can cite, or reference, those to bolster your case.
3) Sometimes you can win if you can show that the state did something wrong (did not follow procedures) and a lawyer is much better positioned than you to see if that was the case and, if so, to bring up on your behalf.
4) A lawyer will simply be better than you about framing or explaining the situation in a way favorable than you.
So you can be successful without a lawyer, but a lawyer will increase you odds of winning. If you need the license to work, then it would be worth hiring a lawyer.
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