I've been charged with the felony of 3rd degree arson by setting a tarffic cone on fire in the middle of an empty parking lot in Idaho. I'm not the only suspect, I was with two girls in which we all share equal blame except that I was the driver of our vehicle and I also excepted blame for the idea. I'm worried because jail time would ruin my second semester of college. I also do not have any prior record of trouble with the law, not even a speeding ticket. What can I suspect from my case?

Three pieces of advice:

1. Get a lawyer
2. Get a lawyer
3. Get a lawyer

Seriously, you have been charged with a felony. You may be able to handle misdemeanors on your own, but only complete idiots try to handle felonies.

The good news is that a lawyer shouldn't charge you too much. You should be able to find somebody to handle it for around $400. For that amount, your lawyer will probably try to reach a plea agreement with the prosecutor. Based on your lack of a prior record and the circumstances surrounding the event, the lawyer MAY be able to get the felony dismissed in exchange for you pleading no contest to a misdemeanor. You would then probably have to pay a fine and/or have some probation time.

It is also important to remember that you don't want to plead "guilty." Always plead "no contest" if you can. This is complicated, but basically it helps cover you if you're sued later on.

DON'T try to do this on your own because the prosecutor probably won't even be willing to bargain with you. He will know that if you are representing yourself, he will be able to eat you alive, and it will result in a VERY easy conviction for him.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Can i still be a firefighter if i have a 2nd degree arson charge that was expunged?

This is the only thing i have ever dreamed of doing and i made a bad decision that will haunt me forever, but will a fire dept hire me with a charge like this even if it had been expunged?

There is a BIG ethical issue there and you will have some SERIOUS explaining to do when in interviews. You may not even be accepted into a fire academy with that charge. If you lie about having been charged, and they find out you will be fired. If you let them know about it, chances are, they will not hire you.

You might need to forget about being a firefighter...Maybe a real estate agent? lol
Sorry...that one mistake could have screwed your dream!

After Arson charges are filled on you, how much time do they have to send case to the D.A?

Arson charges were filled on me after 2 fires at my house when I was gone.It was investigated by several people and we were told that more than one place of origin was found.after 3 wks I was asked in for another interview with authorities but it turned out to be police detectives who threatened me to confess to a crime i did not commit. They brought my kids into it by stating they were going to call CPS and have them taken away if I did not admit to the crime. The statement I made was information the Arson Investigators had already told us about the fire. Anyway, charges were filed in Sep.07 and as yet to go to the D.A. How long do they have to send it?

Don't say anything or sign anything, see your soliciter soon as.

Serious Answers ONLY please. My boyfriend is a hard worker when he can find a job. He has an Arson charge on him I'm not sure if its a felony or not but seeing how he was in TDJC I'm guessing it was. He says its hard for him to get them to call him back after the interviews because he tells the truth on his applications. He has had only grocery stocking jobs since he got out. He is willing to do Warehouse jobs but everyone he's been to does a background check. Can someone please help me so I can help him find a good job so we can actually pay our bills and have a little bit of money left?
He's 22 now and I thought in the state of Texas that if you commit any crime at 17 you are considered an adult.

Generally, arson or otherwise, a felony on one's record will be a big hurdle in most jobs. I would recommend that the search process needs to first start (as always) with a serious thought on one's interests.

Then based on that information, find smaller businesses, independant owners, entrepeneurs and such who perform a more personal hiring process versus the larger companies who will really just disqualify someone before getting to know them.

Good Luck, I think perseverance will be the key.

I live in New York i'm still under 18 and whatnot. so heres the story, a group of friends and i get tickets for trespass in a park after hours, but at the same time a rumor of a fire at a camping place was going around and fire fighters come to extinguish it.

my group of friends and i were near the place of fire when we got the tickets but we did not set the fire. though we did not have anything to do with the fire, the fire marshal wants to press charges on us for arson/attempted arson because we were around the area of when it happened

so my questions are: what proof does the marshal have against us when we had nothing to do with the fire and the fact that we were only charged with trespass?
:what are the charges if the marshal does convict us?

it's been 3 months since i got the trespass ticket
and was wondering what the marshal can do if we weren't charged of arson at the time?

and one more thing, the park was not damaged and nobody was hurt
so i can still be charged with felony, despite the fact that i had nothing to do with the arson?

Ask a criminal defence attorney.

seeing one does not imply guilt, it's a basic citizen's right.

not sure of NY rates, but around here, 100 dollars will get an hour's chat and would be worth it to help get yourself in the clear.