Long story short, I was taking an off ramp around a bend and a cop clocked me going 59 in a 35. It happened to quickly to even slow down, and I'm almost positive I wasn't even in the 35 mph zone when he clocked me. I was given a $187 ticket.
Illinois has a graduated licensing program, so you have to be the best driver in the world until you reach age 21. Unfortunately, I am 20 and this is my second ticket in a 24 month time frame, so if I admit guilt to this my license will be suspended for one month at minimum. Possibly even longer. So I have to fight this ticket no matter what.
I talked to my chain of command and I was told to talk to a lawyer about fighting it. The lawyer said
quote
I have reviewed your ticket. It appears to be free of most common defects. There are two unknowns at this point. Whether the officer files the ticket within the time limits required and whether he will show up at court if you contest it.
You have three choices for dealing with this ticket. 1. Admit and pay the fine; 2. Deny and appear before a Judge or hire an attorney to appear for you; or, 3. Write a letter in mitigation to the court asking for a reduced speed/fine. (this choice is almost as bad as choice number 1 as the Judges will routinely deny your mitigation letter).
I would charge a fee of $500 to defend on the case and appear for you to request a dismissal. If unsuccessful at the first hearing, I will request a trial setting to see if the officer attends court. If he fails to appear, I would move for dismissal of the charge.
Please let me know if I should prepare and forward a written retainer agreement with payment instructions.
Is it going to be worth it to pay $500 for this? If I lose, I'll be out $687. Should I just represent myself? What is going to be my best course of action?
$687 is cheap compared to the alternative, especially when you consider the increased insurance for a person your age, and the way the points will affect you going forward. If you defend yourself, the judge likely isn't going to even go by the books and give an automatic 'guilty' regardless of circumstances or evidence, but might be more careful and try the case properly when dealing with a lawyer.
$687 is cheap compared to the alternative, especially when you consider the increased insurance for a person your age, and the way the points will affect you going forward. If you defend yourself, the judge likely isn't going to even go by the books and give an automatic 'guilty' regardless of circumstances or evidence, but might be more careful and try the case properly when dealing with a lawyer.
OTOH, if he fights it with the $500 attorney and still loses, he has to pay the fine, the attorney, AND still gets the points and increased insurance premiums..........
If you really think you are innocent, fight it in court..with trained legal representation. If you're just trying to beat the ticket, 'hoping' the officer doesn't appear, just be equally prepared to pay the price.
Just curious but is Traffic School an option? They kind where you pay the fine for the ticket, attend the class and once completed show proof of completion to keep the ticket off your record?
It sounds like the lawyer wants to get the charge dismissed, and is counting on the possibility of the cop not showing up. I highly doubt the officer would appear twice.
And I'm not sure if court supervision/traffic school is a thing in Hawaii.
Why not at least go for #2? Costs nothing and has a better chance than #1. edited: Oh! The lawyer gets to require the cops presence twice and you only once. Is it worth $500 to shift the odds quite a bit? It sounds like it might be worth it in your case and I remember when I moved to Ca. at your age. I had four tickets in four months. You might want to think about changing your driving style. Or not.
[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 12-07-2017).]
Not sure if this is an option for you or not but, I have gone to court to contest a ticket. Some times, you get the bear, sometimes, the bear gets you.
From my experience (this one in particular) most prosecuting attorneys are available prior to the actual hearing to see those that are going to be contesting those charges. I have gone to see these prosecuting lawyers and gotten a charge reduced to something much less in the eyes of the law and to insurance companies. You're still going to end up paying the fine (my experience) but the reduced charge that you will be required to plead guilty to will not affect your insurance rates (nearly as much). While the LEO has one goal (to slow you down), the prosecuting attorney and the courts) have an additional goal of revenue generation. Personally, I'd avoid the attorney and plead my case to the prosecutor.
The one time I actually felt like I wasn't guilty, I actually did go to court and the LEO didn't show up so, my case was dismissed. You roll the dice and take your chances.
Been there, done that (before I figured out that driving like Roger was stupid).
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 12-07-2017).]
Does Hawaii have a minimum sight distance for the use of speed detection equipment? Many states do. It's to prevent the hiding behind the bush or sign speed trap sort of thing. For example, in my state, the officer's vehicle must be clearly visible for a distance of 500 feet, and it must be a marked vehicle.
US DOT also requires speed reduction signs to be posted at specific distances prior to a drop in posted speeds. Are those signs present and properly posted?
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 12-07-2017).]
Long story short, I was taking an off ramp around a bend and a cop clocked me going 59 in a 35. It happened to quickly to even slow down, and I'm almost positive I wasn't even in the 35 mph zone when he clocked me. I was given a $187 ticket.
Illinois has a graduated licensing program, so you have to be the best driver in the world until you reach age 21. Unfortunately, I am 20 and this is my second ticket in a 24 month time frame, so if I admit guilt to this my license will be suspended for one month at minimum. Possibly even longer. So I have to fight this ticket no matter what.
I talked to my chain of command and I was told to talk to a lawyer about fighting it. The lawyer said
Is it going to be worth it to pay $500 for this? If I lose, I'll be out $687. Should I just represent myself? What is going to be my best course of action?
Is it worth walking for 3 months? is it worth the insurance hike if your lic to drive is suspended, It also is a surchargable event.. meaning you'll get nailed on your insurance for 6 years for the suspended lic. and the speeding ticket.. 500. 00 is spit compared to what it will cost you over 6 years if you loose.. Also the suspended lic. is a points event, meaning 3 hits on your lic within so much time, you might get it back after that set time, only to have them suspend it again for 3 surchargable events within x months.. And the 2nd one will be 6 months to a year..
I'd fight it with a lawyer..
[This message has been edited by Keel (edited 12-07-2017).]
Long shot, but I beat one when I showed up to court with a receipt for a repair of a vehicle speed sensor, had to pay the court surcharge but still better than the points and fines. Easily done if you know someone in the business of repair or part sales.
One of my son's best friend is a KHP Trooper. Last year he chased and finally caught up with a guy that was driving like Roger, clocked him at 160 mph IIRC. Regardless, the guy hired a lawyer and got the charged greatly reduced. But, it wasn't cheap. All depends on what you can afford.
Thanks for the replies everyone, I've just been busy lately. I'm moving barracks.
And I decided to go ahead with hiring a lawyer. He said he thinks the ticket will survive the first court date, and if it does, he'll request a second one.
Thanks for the replies everyone, I've just been busy lately. I'm moving barracks.
And I decided to go ahead with hiring a lawyer. He said he thinks the ticket will survive the first court date, and if it does, he'll request a second one.
Well, good luck, driving like Roger has it's consequences ya know.
I'm pretty confident in him, but I'm understandably a little annoyed with this whole situation. Illinois and its stupid graduated licensing program is complete garbage. I'm glad to have gotten out of there.
If it happened in Hawaii and your license is through Illinois, check to see if it will get reported to your state. My ticket in Ohio doesn't appear on my Michigan drivers record
I hired a lawyer for mine. Accused of 24 mph over. Lawyer got it down to 5 over, she met with the prosecuter out of court. Cost me $300 for the lawyer then how ever much for the 5 over ticket and some filing fee. My understanding is even if you get yours reduced, you are still screwed.
My friend told me he got caught going 90 in a 30 and by some miracle he was able to get it reduced to a lot of parking tickets. He didn't have a lawyer.
Long story short, I was taking an off ramp around a bend and a cop clocked me going 59 in a 35. It happened to quickly to even slow down, and I'm almost positive I wasn't even in the 35 mph zone when he clocked me.
If you can prove that you were not in the 35 zone.....for instance the 35 sign was 500ft in front of you, you could probably get the ticket dismissed. I've done this many times. Take a highway exit at 70 (thats our speed limit here in the central valley), it merges on to a slower highway that is 55mph. The 55mph sign is 1000ft after I merge on to the new highway. Until I hit that sign, I should be able to do my current speed.
[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 12-10-2017).]
The last time I got a ticket 50 in a 35 out in the boondocks speed trap, I called the prosecutor and got it plead down to a couple of parking violations. It was still a $150 fine. But I had a clean driving record and was probably 50 years old. I was out of the little berg and kicked on cruise control. I was in my 88 GT and the only ticket I have gotten in a Fiero.
My license does expire next year but apparently Illinois has this rule that allows you to keep using it after it's expiration if you're in the military, because it's difficult to get issued a new one when you're so far away.
But my family is moving to North Carolina so I'll be getting licensed there soon enough.
Unfortunately the lawyer is out of state until the 18th, so I'll have to talk to him in person then.
The fine is the least of his worries. If the tickets sticks, he could have much higher insurance rates for a very long time. If he was going fast enough to warrant reckless driving, he could also face military discipline on top of whatever he might get in a civilian court.
All I can do is relate what happened to me. In New Jersey, pulled over for 77 in a 55. State Trooper is polite & professional, late night, middle of nowhere. I'm polite & respectful. He writes me for 69 in a 55, lower points. Also TELLS me, I can go to court and ask the Prosecutor to reduce the charge.
I call my insurance company. If I just pay the fine (~$200) my rates will go up much more than that. Bad deal.
I go to court. Wait 3 hours just to talk to the Prosecutor. Offers "Disobeying a traffic Control Device" or whatever it's called. $440 fine, ouch. But zero points.
I took the deal. My record was clean, but I doubt he bothered to look at it. Around these parts, if the Prosecutor agrees to the plea deal, the judge won't argue. Everybody wants to go home. If you have a lawyer, particularly one that is well known (and liked, that's important) by the court, it helps. The Judge really doesn't want to see you again. If he knows you spent a painful amount of money, that should be enough to prevent another visit. It was for me.
I raised two boys, and had a less-than-spotless driving record when younger. I've seen a LOT of traffic court. That's what it works like around here.
All I can do is relate what happened to me. In New Jersey, pulled over for 77 in a 55. State Trooper is polite & professional, late night, middle of nowhere. I'm polite & respectful. He writes me for 69 in a 55, lower points. Also TELLS me, I can go to court and ask the Prosecutor to reduce the charge.
I call my insurance company. If I just pay the fine (~$200) my rates will go up much more than that. Bad deal.
I go to court. Wait 3 hours just to talk to the Prosecutor. Offers "Disobeying a traffic Control Device" or whatever it's called. $440 fine, ouch. But zero points.
I took the deal. My record was clean, but I doubt he bothered to look at it. Around these parts, if the Prosecutor agrees to the plea deal, the judge won't argue. Everybody wants to go home. If you have a lawyer, particularly one that is well known (and liked, that's important) by the court, it helps. The Judge really doesn't want to see you again. If he knows you spent a painful amount of money, that should be enough to prevent another visit. It was for me.
I raised two boys, and had a less-than-spotless driving record when younger. I've seen a LOT of traffic court. That's what it works like around here.
Back in the day........early to mid 80's, (when I was your age), I had quite a few points on my record, mostly speeding. I used one of these gear reduction boxes to throw the speedometer off. Then I had the truck tested by an authorized speedometer testing station, (or whatever it was called). I took this report to the court and always got it dismissed, (6 or so times), with maybe court costs. Worked in Maryland back then. Didn't work in Delaware though. Delaware said that I was responsible for the proper operation of my vehicle, blah, blah, blah.
I also at one time had a pending ticket with substantial fine/points. That day the Trooper didn't show. That was a Godsend.
BTW: I used a lawyer only once on the advice of my dad. This was my first ticket when I was 18 YO. It cost me $300 back then which was several paychecks. I still got assessed with the fine and all points. That was the first and last time I used a lawyer, (for speeding tickets that is).
BTW: I used a lawyer only once on the advice of my dad. This was my first ticket when I was 18 YO. It cost me $300 back then which was several paychecks. I still got assessed with the fine and all points. That was the first and last time I used a lawyer, (for speeding tickets that is).
