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Question for our lawyers.. sort of (3 Viewers)

krafticus

krafticus

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I don’t need to get into the nitty gritty details, but wanted to ask our lawyers here a general question.

My 19yr old son received a speeding ticket, but it was classified as reckless. We’ve received many letters from attorneys, and was wondering if it’s worth contacting them. I don’t care about the fine; I’m worried about the points, his job, and the surely ridiculous increase in car insurance. If anyone has some suggestions, I’d appreciate it. If more details are required, I can send via pm.

Thanks

Mark
 
Many years ago I was following my friend on the Long Island Expressway headed out to the Hamptons. He was in a Trans Am I was in an S10 Blazer. He was doing about 85 - 100 and I was right behind him when a Suffolk County cop pulled me over told me to stay where I was and went after my friend and pulled him over. When it was all said and done he gave my friend a speeding ticket and me a reckless driving ticket for following too close. The difference was my friend being from New York with a New York Plate was able to mail in his speeding ticket while I from Pennsylvania had to appear in court and plead on the reckless driving. I'm sure the officer knew what a huge inconvenience it was going to be for me to not only show up in court to plead not but then to return to court to finish the process. I doubt this helps you in your quest but it just made me remember a very crappy situation I was put in. By the way the result was that I showed up for the initial hearing and plead guilty and then never returned to court LOL. For 7 years I was very nervous about being pulled over when I was in New York because I'm certain there was a bench warrant for my arrest LOL. Good luck with getting an answer for your sons predicament
 
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My unsolicited no attorney background thoughts

1. Contest it not guilty, then it gets scheduled and officer must come to court? If they don’t you win.
2. Verify his radar gun has been calibrated
3. Find a local attorney who is familiar with court system and prosecutor good chance you guys can work something out
4. Make teenage son pick up additional hours at part time job to pay for his mistake
5. Once you get so many points you can take a class that reduces your points for the state
6. Bad news is the state keeps driving records for something like 3 years. Insurance keeps them on your file for much longer.
7. Insurance can install a tracking system on the car for driving behavior to help lower rates
 
Hiring the lawyers is my go to move. Ticket Clinic, or whatever is available in your area. They end up getting the violation reduced to a non-moving violation - no points. The fine they end up getting is usually the same as the ticket. Plus you have to pay them. But, they delay payment for about 6 months and you do not have to appear in court. At least that is my experience here in Florida. Good luck!
 
Paying an attorney to make it go away (will get it plead down to faulty windshield wiper blades or something stupid) is always cheaper by far than the bump to your insurance. Not only that, but here’s my story…

I was driving home from a clients house in the middle of the night. It was 200 miles and I decided I’d spice things up and see if I could make it home in under 2 hours. I’m driving a black BMW 650i at the time, which is simply for context. It matters later. Anyway, I’m cursing at 130+ the entire way, as the roads are completely clear and I can see for ten miles in every direction. I’m coming into Springfield (pop is around 300k) so I think, I am way ahead of “pace” and should count my lucky stars I haven’t seen a cop. No sooner does that thought cross my mind then I pass a cop with his lights off parked in some shrubs along the ditch. Fuck. I don’t even bother waiting for the lights to come on. I just slow down and pull off the highway in a safe place for the officer. I stick both hands outside the car, as the windows are tinted too dark for him to see inside and I want this dude put at ease. So, he approaches the car, gun drawn. Do you know why I pulled you over? Yes, sir! I was doing roughly 150mph in a 55 zone. He puts his gun in the holster and says, “I wasn’t prepared for brutal honesty”. “Why on earth are you driving so fast?” I explained it’s a fun little game I play to entertain myself. He starts to lecture me and I interrupt. I’m sorry sir. I’m happy to hear you out, but I’d really like to do so from outside of the car. “Why?” Sir, there is a loaded firearm on my dash board. I placed in in plain sight to make sure there is no misunderstanding, but hadn’t got a chance to point it out, so I wanted you to know. He’s flabbergasted at himself. He opens the door and thanks me for getting out, takes the weapon and all ,y paperwork back to his patrol car. Ten minutes or so later he comes back to the car laughing his head off and hands me my gun in pieces, along with the bullets from his other hand. He says “I wouldn’t begin to know what to write you a ticket for, as running you record and looking at your car, it’s pretty obvious you’ll just hire an attorney and make this go away anyway. Clearly you can afford it and no lecture from me is going to change your behavior, so I’m just going to ask you to please slow down and get home safe. Have a great night.”

And that was that. No tickets of any kind.

Lesson is, they can see when they wrote tickets and that none of them ever stick. It took 30 years of paying attorney fees, but the cops finally just gave up even writing tickets to me. 😂😂
 
Wow! Lots of information in this thread. Some of it is good. Some not.

As a now-retired 25-year police officer, I wrote my share of tickets. One piece of bad information I hear repeated all the time is: "If the officer doesn't show up to court, you walk."

That's actually true. It's also why my agency would have fired me if I failed to show up for court. It's not about the ticket at that point. It's about the officer sending a big middle finger to the judge. So officers (generally) don't miss court. I never missed. At court, we were treated with respect we never saw on the street, and it was easy, safe overtime. I wouldn't bank on the officer "not showing up."

Most agencies have a court liaison. On the day of your son's court appearance, the officer may have worked the previous night and be home in bed. The court liaison or prosecutor might try to offer a reduction. Ask for a reduction to something below the "reckless" speed. If you push it and say, "No, the officer isn't here. I want a trial!" (thinking they'll dismiss the ticket), they'll schedule it for trial and you'll wait for the officer to come in. (We had 90 minutes to get from home to the courthouse.) Then the trial will be about the actual speed clocked, not a reduction.

Any suggestion that a reckless driving ticket might be reduced to an equipment violation or dropped altogether because the driver challenged previous tickets is, frankly, BS.

Here's the advice I would give to my own family member:

Because it's a reckless driving ticket (because the speed was so high), I would plead "not guilty" and at least talk to an attorney. Most will consult for a fee or for free and tell you if they can help at all. Follow your attorney's advice.

If the attorney can't help, talk to the prosecutor or the officer on the day of trial, sooner if you can. Offer to plead to a reduced speed -- something below the reckless driving threshold. (In my state, 20 or more over the limit is reckless. ) Ask if your son is eligible for a "first offender" program. Be prepared to tell them all the good things about your son: He works, he goes to school, he volunteers, etc.

Lastly, do or say whatever it takes to get your kid to slow down. As a detective, I worked a case where a 19-year-old was speeding at 100 mph when he T-boned a guy driving home from work. The victim, who had a wife and two kids, burned alive in his SUV. The kid served 15 years in jail.
 
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Get a local lawyer. Asking PCF for advice is perhaps entertaining but not the way to solve the problems.

Hiring a local lawyer gets to the granular nature of this case. It doesn't matter much what other people, in other jurisdictions, with different facts and situations experienced. This is going to boil down quickly to the quirks specific to your situation. You need someone who makes a living doing this sort of legal work in the appropriate courts. It is tricky, nuanced, often depending on who is the judge and which law enforcement agency(ies) are involved.

Please pay attention to @dennis63 final bit of advice. It sounds like your kid is a danger to himself and the community. Someone could be badly injured and/or die if this reckless behavior is left to fester. Worry as much about your kid's personal safety and the well-being of the public as you do about your insurance bill.

Dead is hard to fix even with a good lawyer -=- DrStrange
 
DrStrange said:
Get a local lawyer. Asking PCF for advice is perhaps entertaining but not the way to solve the problems.

Hiring a local lawyer gets to the granular nature of this case. It doesn't matter much what other people, in other jurisdictions, with different facts and situations experienced. This is going to boil down quickly to the quirks specific to your situation. You need someone who makes a living doing this sort of legal work in the appropriate courts. It is tricky, nuanced, often depending on who is the judge and which law enforcement agency(ies) are involved.

Please pay attention to @dennis63 final bit of advice. It sounds like your kid is a danger to himself and the community. Someone could be badly injured and/or die if this reckless behavior is left to fester. Worry as much about your kid's personal safety and the well-being of the public as you do about your insurance bill.

Dead is hard to fix even with a good lawyer -=- DrStrange
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Stating my kid is a danger to the community is way off line, especially without the details.
 
The other day someone had some automotive questions. I didn’t mock the OP, gave some sound advice and everyone offered their opinions, some advice even better than mine. I think PCF is a great place to ask for suggestions @DrStrange.
 
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No offense intended, as the facts are still in question. Perhaps the charges are bogus. Maybe the police made a mistake. We have trials to answer this sort of question. This is why a lawyer is recommended. It is also why insurance companies will wait for legal resolution before the actuaries make their decisions.

But in the apparently unlikely case the driver was in fact driving so fast thar the state judges it to be "reckless", please try to keep an open mind. Even if a great lawyer gets the charges reduced or dropped.

As for why I have strong opinions about this - - - we buried my eleven-year-old after being hit by a sober but reckless driver. Our lives were never the same and neither were the offending driver's. -=- DrStrange
 
DrStrange said:
No offense intended, as the facts are still in question. Perhaps the charges are bogus. Maybe the police made a mistake. We have trials to answer this sort of question. This is why a lawyer is recommended. It is also why insurance companies will wait for legal resolution before the actuaries make their decisions.

But in the apparently unlikely case the driver was in fact driving so fast thar the state judges it to be "reckless", please try to keep an open mind. Even if a great lawyer gets the charges reduced or dropped.

As for why I have strong opinions about this - - - we buried my eleven-year-old after being hit by a sober but reckless driver. Our lives were never the same and neither were the offending driver's. -=- DrStrange
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I’m sorry for your loss.
In MD, 20+ over is reckless he was on an open highway and while driving fast, it wasn’t crazy fast. We track him now, and he’s definitely learned a hard lesson and has taken it to heart
 
Mark,

Look up some local crim defense attorneys that specialize in traffic cases. Consult usually free. Young kid, no record, should be way to plead down to some traffic charge below reckless. VA was same way, 20 over auto reckless, but it is money maker for county and they are not trying to ruin kids lives. Not often 95 in 70 in highway, sometimes in town limit changes and people miss it. Will get points and court costs and insurance will go up, but drop below reckless is huge.

Best,

R
 
krafticus said:
I don’t need to get into the nitty gritty details, but wanted to ask our lawyers here a general question.

My 19yr old son received a speeding ticket, but it was classified as reckless. We’ve received many letters from attorneys, and was wondering if it’s worth contacting them. I don’t care about the fine; I’m worried about the points, his job, and the surely ridiculous increase in car insurance. If anyone has some suggestions, I’d appreciate it. If more details are required, I can send via pm.

Thanks

Mark
Click to expand...
I’m not a lawyer.

What district is it in. I know your your in the NoVA/MD area.

My personal experience in Fairfax. I got a reckless going 60mph through the Dulles toll booth going towards 95 south. It was a speed trap and about 30+ people were in ct that day with the same ticket. About 1/2 had lawyers, 1/2 didn’t.

The half with lawyers got reduced to speeding, + full fine and court costs. The other half got the max, license suspended, etc. The Judge was a complete jack wagon - par for the course in Fairfax.

If it’s a NOVA jurisdiction, I’d get a lawyer..just my experience. The lawyer’s all know the prosecutors, and unless it’s a DUI or egregious they will typically reduce.

I was advised by a friend whose husband was a Fairfax cop to get a lawyer, I am glad I did. It felt very much like not having a lawyer was severely penalized- at least in Fairfax.
 
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Not sure how MD works ,but in NJ if you go to court you can talk to the court you can plead down to an "unsafe driving" ticket. They tack on a few (4) extra hundred dollars to the fine, but it's 0 points. You can only use that twice in 5 years (source: used 3 in 6 1/2 years during my younger years).
 
dpeks13 said:
Not sure how MD works ,but in NJ if you go to court you can talk to the court you can plead down to an "unsafe driving" ticket. They tack on a few (4) extra hundred dollars to the fine, but it's 0 points. You can only use that twice in 5 years (source: used 3 in 6 1/2 years during my younger years).
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fucking dave :tup:
 
Budha said:
I’m not a lawyer.

What district is it in. I know your your in the NoVA/MD area.

My personal experience in Fairfax. I got a reckless going 60mph through the Dulles toll booth going towards 95 south. It was a speed trap and about 30+ people were in ct that day with the same ticket. About 1/2 had lawyers, 1/2 didn’t.

The half with lawyers got reduced to speeding, + full fine and court costs. The other half got the max, license suspended, etc. The Judge was a complete jack wagon - par for the course in Fairfax.

If it’s a NOVA jurisdiction, I’d get a lawyer..just my experience. The lawyer’s all know the prosecutors, and unless it’s a DUI or egregious they will typically reduce.

I was advised by a friend whose husband was a Fairfax cop to get a lawyer, I am glad I did. It felt very much like not having a lawyer was severely penalized- at least in Fairfax.
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The amount of justice you receive is directly proportional to the amount you spend.
 
For a reckless charge, I'm definitely consulting an attorney. I can tell you that insurance alone will be more than the cost of the lawyer. You'll save overall in just a few months.

My kid has three accidents, none her "fault" but she became uninsurable on my policy.
 

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