Why Fight A Ticket?

The simple answer is to improve your situation. If you plead guilty to a citation you will have to pay the fine set forth on the ticket and will also receive the corresponding amount of points on your license according to state law. Most importantly, a permanent judgment of guilt will be made on the record of the state motor vehicle department which may affect several things including the rate you are charged for insurance, your ability to continue driving, and even your job if it depends upon driving at all. For commercial drivers such as truckers the risk is even greater, in that two guilty convictions within a 36 month results in a 60 day suspension which prevents you from earning income to support a family and also may cost your job.

While you should clearly consider fighting a ticket if you are innocent, there are also reasons to do so even if you may be guilty. Because prosecutors are over burdened, their goal on most traffic citations is to close the file with a favorable result as soon as possible. That means avoiding trials because they take time, money and can require the attendance of police officers as witnesses whose services are better used elsewhere. As a result, prosecutors will usually offer a deal, called a "plea bargain," which is more favorable to you than pleading guilty to the original charge. This is particularly true if you are represented by an attorney who has the ability to take your case to trial with a significantly better chance of winning than you do. The prosecutors know this so they will offer plea bargains to attorneys.

For instance, if your goal is to avoid points so you can retain your drivers license the prosecutor may be willing to reduce the charge to a no point violation in return for an enhanced fine. Alternatively, if you do not want to pay the fine the prosecutor will sometimes agree to dismiss the charge if you attend a defensive driving school. However, there is always the possibility that we can beat the ticket entirely as there may be a defense of which you are not aware or the prosecutor simply does not want to take the case to trial for whatever reason. But there are also some situations such as those involving an accident, particularly if there is an injury or fatality involved, in which the prosecutor is seldom willing to enter into a plea bargain. By forwarding the information on the questionnaire under "SEND US YOUR TICKET" we can review the situation and advise you of whether we can be of any assistance on your ticket.