Im 23 and live in the state of New Jersey and was recently pulled over for window tint. The cop came up to my car and claimed he smelled marajuana. Searched my car and found a bowl, a one hitter, and a small empty bag. He did not find any weed in the car. On the summons though they added burnt marajuana residue was on both pieces and raw marajuana residue in the bag (bag was empty). My question is since this was my first offense of any crimal charges should I still get a lawyer? I talked to one today and he told me he would do it for 1,000 (which also happens to be the max fine for drug paraphernalia in jersey) and that he could get me on conditional discharge for 6-12 months and then after that get it expunged. The thing is I have people telling me that I should just go to court without a lawyer. they say a lawyer will cost more cause of court fines and all.
I didnt know if I could fight it by myself and then hire a lawyer to get it expunged later. Im pretty tight on money so Im trying to figure out the best possible way to handle this.

