Pulled Over and Discovered I Had a Suspended License

[CAtoAZ]

My question involves a driver's license issued by the State of: CA
I was pulled over this fall only to find I had a suspended license since June. Had been laid off & lost my apt so living with 3 or 4 different friends for close to a year, & had been on subsequent doctor's care for severe depression & anxiety + stress, so I didn't receive notices of previous traffic issues causing the suspension & didn't follow up as 'out of sight out of mind' with everything else I was going through.
Now live in AZ with parents who are helping me back on my feet. Court date for this ticket is 1/30. Was told write a judge's consideration letter, but tickets that caused the suspension went to collection agency the court uses.

Is this letter ONLY to ask for leniency to hopefully not be required to show for court back in LA (as I have no car & suspended license & can't afford a plane ticket) & instead hopefully perform some community service or something here in AZ or does it ALSO serve to possibly reduce the ticket amounts due to my circumstances, even though they have gone to collection? Can the judge reduce the amount & inform the collection agency so I can try paying the reduced amount instead of the $2200 now pending in order to get my license suspension cleared? Thanks!!!

[Mr. Knowitall]

The ideal course would be to get your license reinstated, then try to convince the prosecutor to reduce or dismiss the charge based upon the fact that it was for unpaid tickets that you've resolved, with your emotional problems and moves as a possible mitigating factor. This will cost you money. Sorry.

[CAtoAZ]

Thank you for the information! I thought as much, but wanted to be sure. Also, assuming I can't pay the charges to get my license reinstated before the court date, what are the possible decisions the judge could make? Is this considered a misdemeanor after the court date & dependent on which decision the judge makes? I'm interested because I'm currently beginning interviews & it's banking, which is my profession, however they do background & credit checks & they will be interested in any misdemeanor offenses. Thanks again!!

[seniorjudge]

Also, assuming I can't pay the charges to get my license reinstated before the court date, what are the possible decisions the judge could make?

Do everything you can do to get this cleared up immediately if not sooner.

Otherwise, forget about going into banking.