Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

Well, I would defintely encourage you to get a criminal defense lawyer even if you don't see it as a big deal now. That is because the record will be with you for many years to come. If you make any mistake in the future, the fact that you have been found guilty before will count against you and cause incresaingly more serious consequences. So you have to live a perfect life after this to avoid problems.

With legal defense, you might be found guilty, but at least there is a chance that you will get off.

You will probably get a fairly light sentence, such as 30 days to 60 days with ALL of it suspended (or all but a few days suspended).

That means that if you get in trouble again, then the full jail time must be served.

But if you stay clean for (probably) 1 year, then the sentence goes away and disappears.

But you will pay court costs and a fine. And the real damage is having it on your record.

So I think it is more important than you think to try to get the help to fight it.

The person you would ask is the prosecutor, hopefully before the cases are called in the morning. The trouble is that the prosecutor is swamped with other people wanting to talk to him, and the need to confer with the police officers. So you have to chase him down. If your case is called before you got the chance, you can ask to have your case passed over because you wanted to talk to the prosecutor about the first offender program. The judge will probably give you more time, but you will end up waiting a long time until a break.

You could possibly send a letter before the court date, as long as you do not admit anything in the letter. Just ask the question. DON'T STATE ANY FACTS. Not of ANY kind. Not on ANY aspect of the charge. Just ask the question "Can I talk to you about some first offender program arrangement?" Please understand the difference between asking a question and stating facts. DO NOT state any facts. They CAN be used against you. Even soemthing as simple as you were there that day. DON'T say anything at all.