Does voluntary community service help before my preliminary?

Yes. Hire a lawyer. I don't think that community service is going to "help" you obtain a better result. If you're trying to appear contrite, and do volunteer work just because you got caught, that may be looked at unfavorably by a judge. A real plan of action would be to log off of the internet, hire a good defense lawyer, and seek pre trial diversion where you could incorporate community service as part of an agreement of deferred prosecution. Hire a lawyer to talk to the prosecution to see if this is even an option.

Your charge is close enough to a misdemeanor that community service may help your situation, depending on any prior criminal record you may have. There is no question that you need to either retain an experienced local criminal defense attorney or ask the court to appoint one for you.

Dear Reston - I will answer your question below - but be careful what you post on line, since this is a public forum. I always think that it is a wise and useful thing for larceny defendants who cannot defend against the charge to show both remorse and contrition by voluntarily performing community service prior to trial. Some other lawyers may question whether is does any good, but since you are trying to act, rather than sit around, i say - well done and it cannot hurt! And yes - getting a lawyer is very, very smart!

Did you have to appear for court in the morning a couple of days after the arrest to have the charge read to you? Did you sign a form at that court appearance? Have you read the form? If it is like most forms, you agreed to hire counsel and notify the court of your attorney's information by a certain date. If not, you MUST be present to tell the court what you have done to hire a lawyer. If you have done nothing, you may have your bond revoked and you locked up. Good luck.

In my experience, voluntarily completing community service work never hurts and in some cases can tip the scale in your favor at least a little bit. It is certainly not the most important factor, but it is one of many things which factor into the eventual outcome. Far more important is for you to retain an experienced and respected Virginia Criminal Defense Attorney with a proven record of success and to do so as soon as possible. Once you have your lawyer on board, the performance of community service work is one of many things you should be discussing with your lawyer. Best of luck to you.