Out-of-State Visitors And Drug Charges in Prince William County

In addition to working with someone local, there are other things a person can be doing if they’re not from the local jurisdiction. One is that they can, with the guidance of the a Prince William County drug lawyer, be seeking to do treatment or other in-patient or out-patient programs where they live.

Other things that they should be doing would include not talking to anyone at all about their drug charge apart from their attorney. People who are from other jurisdictions often mistakenly imagine that they can talk to friends or relatives or even law enforcement in that jurisdiction without the fear that those things may become evidence in the case against them. This is simply not true.

Virginia courts do have the power to bring those individuals to court to testify and any statements that are made by the accused can be evidence against them whether they’re living right next door to the courthouse or they’re living a significant distance away.

Common Questions Asked By Visitors Facing Drug Charges in Prince William County

Visitors who are charged with drug offenses in Prince William County are often concerned about whether they are potentially facing incarceration and, if it is a case where it appears that they are potentially facing incarceration, they want to know whether they will have to serve their jail or prison sentence locally or whether that’s something that can be done in their home state or in another part of Virginia where they’re from.

Unfortunately, if someone does find themselves incarcerated, in the case of jail they will always be incarcerated at the local Prince William County Detention Center and in the case of prison, they will be incarcerated at any one of a number of facilities throughout Virginia. This is simply determined by the prison system itself. Individuals who are out of state will be incarcerated in Virginia and not in their local state.

Your Driver’s License After a Virginia Drug Charge

Another question that individuals frequently ask is about whether their driver’s license will be affected by a drug charge in Virginia, even though their driver’s license is in a different state or jurisdiction. The answer varies significantly depending on what state they’re from.

Whereas, a Virginia defendant could reasonably anticipate that their driver’s license would be suspended in connection with any drug charge, a Virginia court does not have power to suspend, for example, a Maryland driver’s license.

However, numerous states are signatories to a mutual reporting compact where they have agreed to notify one another if there has been a criminal offense in a foreign state made by the resident of the home state. And in many cases, when the home jurisdiction of the person visiting Virginia learns that they have been convicted of a drug-related offense, it can in fact have an impact on their driver’s license there including anything from suspension all the way to a revocation.