Can I change my court date to an earlier date?

[PlzHelpMe]

Hi, Earlier this year I was charged with misdemoner larceny. Was given community service, did it and paid all the fines. NOW I need to re-appear in court so it can be dismissed. OK HERES THE PROBLEM.. i havent told my parents my situation and dont plan to. Recently my mother was given a citation for an expired sticker. OKAY surprisingly she was given a court date, which happens to be the SAME COURT DATE AS MINES!!.. which means I will see her in court when I go. Arggghh!! PLEASE HELP ME!! any suggestions?!?! I called my lawyer and he said he was going to talk to the DA to see if I can go earlier. I was wondering if maybe I could have my lawyer represent me instead of going myself..is that possible? But I think its papers I need to sign for expungement.. But my lawyer can sign them for me right?! Is it possbile to either re-set your court date for another time or have it set earlier?!.. .THANK YOU

[Litigator]

You can get your court date changed--if the court permits it. This happens frequently and your attorney should be able to get your court date moved up or down although realistically the fact your mother may see you there would not be a good reason to get it moved--you could contact the DA yourself and see if he/she would agree to have the date changed--follow-up and verify with the court clerk this has been done before you decide not to show up on the scheduled date.

I'd also check to make sure you are in fact going to be in the same court as your mother as her case sounds like a traffic case and yours is a criminal case. They may have different divisions or judges that hear different types of cases, especially in your larger metropolitan areas. In some cases you can have a lawyer appear for you and you don't have to be there but I'd check this out first because you do not want a FTA which would jeopardize everything.

Expungement laws do vary but certainly your lawyer could assist you with the paperwork although you may have to sign it and let him/her submit it.