Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Pennsylvania

Re: non-traffic citation/summary

This should be in the criminal law category, but in any event, forget about the typo of the wrong day. Such mistakes can be corrected or amended. Despite what cop shows portray, "technicalities" rarely get cases thrown out.

The strategy for defending a criminal case can really only be made by your own lawyer. Here's some of the things a lawyer would think about.

The judge wants the facts. Your grandaughter should go in there, in her Sunday best, ready to tell the truth. After the teacher tells her story, and admits there was no physical evidence, move to dismiss the case because there's no basis to prove the she was the smoker, as opposed to anyone else who have been in the room previously.

If the judge denies that motion, then you need to decide whether to present a defense.

Does your granddaughter smoke at all? If she doesn't smoke, have some family members who can confirm that. If she does smoke, though, and it's possible that she was the one smoking but had flushed the evidence in time, it's necessary to make a judgment about her credibility before she testifies.

What I mean by that is, no matter how minor the proceeding, she should not testify unless you're convinced that she's innocent.