Speeding Ticket

[Arroz con Panther]

I got a speeding ticket on the way to work this morning on fricken Old Pineville Road in Charlotte, of all places. 45 in a 30. That road should not be 30 and no one goes 30 on it. I'm a little annoyed, but I know the drill. Hire a lawyer, get it dismissed, pay some money. It's my first ticket in probably 10 years and my first in Mecklenburg County. I have a couple of questions:

1) Does anyone have recommendations for a good "speeding ticket" lawyer?

2) How much did you have to pay when you got your last speeding ticket?

Thanks!

[Dex]

Is the fine less than the cost of hiring a lawyer? Mine was $260 for doing 85 in a 55. I went to traffic court, plead guilty and ended up paying $90. They also knocked it down from a speeding violation to a non-moving violation so less points or no points on my license. Just go to traffic court and kiss some booty.

[Anybodyhome]

Wait a couple days and the legal ads will begin flooding your mailbox.

Other options include just going to court and pleading. Advantage is you're standing in front of the judge and he looks at you and your driving record and probably fines you less than what the mail-in cost would be.

Can also plead guilty and ask for a "Prayer for Judgment":

Unique to North Carolina, a Prayer for Judgment Continued (PJC) is often used in traffic violations. It allows someone to plead guilty and ask for a “Prayer for Judgement,” meaning the offense isn’t entered against you. For example, you plead guilty to a speeding ticket, then ask for Prayer for Judgement. If granted, the license points will not be added to your record.

While this sounds like a great deal, a successful petition is not guaranteed or automatic. In addition, Prayer for Judgements can only be used twice in five years per household. Judges use a lot of discretion and vary widely in their granting Prayer for Judgements. This can cause increased insurance rates, driver’s license suspension, employment and housing issues, and other situations that involve background checks.

With a decent driving record, this might be what really saves you some cash. Those points will likely hurt your insurance for a couple years.

[Johnny Rockets]

The last ticket I got was in Cabarrus county a few months ago going 70 in a 55. State trooper pointed out to me on the ticket the option of requesting a plea deal online.  Literally took about 30 seconds and within 2 days I got a response from the DA offering an improper equipment violation instead. Paid the fine online and avoided court and lawyers. Officer told me it was something fairly new and the lawyers hate it because it cuts them out of the equation and saves people a lot of time and money. 

Not sure if that is an option in your case but look into it and if it is, I recommend going that route. 

[LinvilleGorge]

5 minutes ago, Johnny Rockets said:

The last ticket I got was in Cabarrus county a few months ago going 70 in a 55. State trooper pointed out to me on the ticket the option of requesting a plea deal online.  Literally took about 30 seconds and within 2 days I got a response from the DA offering an improper equipment violation instead. Paid the fine online and avoided court and lawyers. Officer told me it was something fairly new and the lawyers hate it because it cuts them out of the equation and saves people a lot of time and money. 

Not sure if that is an option in your case but look into it and if it is, I recommend going that route. 

Yep, good old taxation via citation. 

I live right up the mountain from Morrison, CO which is one of the worst examples of this. Over half of the town's revenue is generated by traffic citations. They run this same racket. Just pay the ticket before your court date and it's automatically reduced to improper equipment. 

[Arroz con Panther]

7 minutes ago, Johnny Rockets said:

The last ticket I got was in Cabarrus county a few months ago going 70 in a 55. State trooper pointed out to me on the ticket the option of requesting a plea deal online.  Literally took about 30 seconds and within 2 days I got a response from the DA offering an improper equipment violation instead. Paid the fine online and avoided court and lawyers. Officer told me it was something fairly new and the lawyers hate it because it cuts them out of the equation and saves people a lot of time and money. 

Not sure if that is an option in your case but look into it and if it is, I recommend going that route. 

I read about that this morning. You can cut your speed to 9 mph over. I don't think your insurance goes up at 9, but I wasn't sure if you still received points on your license. I'll need to look into it a little bit more. I worry about going through the hassle, it not working, and then still having to lawyer up.

[Bronn]

1. Get a printed out copy of your nice, clean driving record.

2. Show up for court the day you've been assigned.

3. Talk to the state's lawyer as you are called up to face the judge, and ask that they consider your nice, clean driving record and say something along the lines of you "not wanting to be financially penalized over the span of three years for an honest mistake" and that you "have demonstrated that you are a safe, aware driver" with your nice, clean driving record.

If you get a good draw on who you're talking to/dealing with that day, they might reduce it to something like "improper equipment" or dismiss the charge completely. You might still have to pay court costs (not sure what they are there) if you get it reduced or thrown out, but it should be less than a lawyer would charge you.

You don't HAVE to pay a lawyer to represent you. It is merely a convenience thing for most people.

At worst, if they deny your attempts at getting the charge reduced to something that won't add points to your license, you can ask for a Prayer for Judgement or a continuance to buy you more time to just go out and find a lawyer that will get it dismissed for you.

A speeding ticket really isn't much of anything, especially if you are willing to face the state/judge and demonstrate you're a responsible adult that is capable of handling your own business.

[Arroz con Panther]

22 minutes ago, Johnny Rockets said:

The last ticket I got was in Cabarrus county a few months ago going 70 in a 55. State trooper pointed out to me on the ticket the option of requesting a plea deal online.  Literally took about 30 seconds and within 2 days I got a response from the DA offering an improper equipment violation instead. Paid the fine online and avoided court and lawyers. Officer told me it was something fairly new and the lawyers hate it because it cuts them out of the equation and saves people a lot of time and money. 

Not sure if that is an option in your case but look into it and if it is, I recommend going that route. 

I believe this is what you were talking about: https://www.obsentinel.com/news/new-online-system-makes-processing-speeding-tickets-faster-easier/article_bc4761ee-be4a-11e7-aad8-7b21ad15c3b8.html

This is the part that scares me:

Quote

 If the district attorney offers an online reduction, the reduced charge, in the district attorney’s discretion, will be nine miles over the posted limit or improper equipment. 

If it gets dropped due to improper equipment, then I just pay the fine and I'm good. If it gets reduced to 9 mph over, it won't affect my insurance, but I think I still get points on my license. That's what I need to look into.

Edit: Just found this: A 9-over reduction does lead to a speeding conviction with two to three license points accumulated (2 points if the speed limit is less than 55 mph and 3 points if the speed limit is more than 55 mph), but these points will not impact your insurance premium if you have no active license points and would be removed from your driving record after three years. 

[Bronn]

You really should just go in person rather than dealing with any kind of online convenience thing IMHO.

I had a DA's rep once act like he didn't understand why I was showing him my driving record (which wasn't spot free by any means) and what exactly I wanted him to do for me.

I literally said:

"Look, sir. I've provided you with evidence that I am a somewhat safe and responsible driver, with both my driving record and by me being here today. I might have been going a little fast that day (12 mph over the limit,) but that choice should not impact me financially in the form of insurance hikes, etc. over the next three years."

He then turned to the judge and said, "Judge, the state moves to reduce these charges to improper equipment."

I paid my court costs (it was like 4-5 years ago, and I think it was to the tune of $185) and was on my way as if nothing ever happened.

[Johnny Rockets]

18 minutes ago, Arroz con Panther said:

I believe this is what you were talking about: https://www.obsentinel.com/news/new-online-system-makes-processing-speeding-tickets-faster-easier/article_bc4761ee-be4a-11e7-aad8-7b21ad15c3b8.html

This is the part that scares me:

If it gets dropped due to improper equipment, then I just pay the fine and I'm good. If it gets reduced to 9 mph over, it won't affect my insurance, but I think I still get points on my license. That's what I need to look into.

Edit: Just found this: A 9-over reduction does lead to a speeding conviction with two to three license points accumulated (2 points if the speed limit is less than 55 mph and 3 points if the speed limit is more than 55 mph), but these points will not impact your insurance premium if you have no active license points and would be removed from your driving record after three years. 

That is odd because I was offered improper equipment and no points on my license. I wouldn't take 9 mph over, as that will be points on your license and with your clean driving record you should get nothing. I mentioned it because it worked for me and was extremely convenient and took about 5 mins of my time and some $ but much less than a layer would have cost me.   If that isn't going to work for you, show up as Bronn said. I just liked that I got the same outcome without any of the hassle. 

[Johnny Rockets]

41 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Yep, good old taxation via citation. 

I live right up the mountain from Morrison, CO which is one of the worst examples of this. Over half of the town's revenue is generated by traffic citations. They run this same racket. Just pay the ticket before your court date and it's automatically reduced to improper equipment. 

 Maybe some see it as a racket but I was legit speeding so I only have myself to blame and appreciated the convenience. No court, no lawyers, no hassle. 

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, Johnny Rockets said:

 Maybe some see it as a racket but I was legit speeding so I only have myself to blame and appreciated the convenience. No court, no lawyers, no hassle. 

It doesn't necessarily automatically qualify as a racket, but when you have municipalities that are literally funding their existence through traffic citations and create a streamlined method to collecting those "taxes" to encourage quick payment and discourage any resistance then yeah, I think that qualifies as a racket. The state of Colorado tried a couple of years ago to enact legislation limiting the percentage of revenue a municipality can drive through traffic citations but it failed. Some states have similar laws already on the books.

[Zaximus]

I got a ticket some years back on 485, like a 85 in a 65 at that time.    I went into the Mecklenberg courthouse, got in line, and a guy was walking down the line looking at your ticket.    Took mine, marked it to 7 over and said go there and pay fine.    I went and paid fine, and then left.     Basically he was going down the line doing it for everyone.

I wouldn't worry about a lawyer honestly, just go in there and take care of your business.

[Paa Langfart]

Do they not offer to reduce most speeding tickets to improper equipment in exchange for agreeing to go to a drivers safety course there ?  They do here.