I got a speeding ticket for 9 over in NC. It will be a Friday court date. Do I need a lawyer? What will happen
I was going 54 in a 45.
Do I just show up by myself at the Court house?
This is my first ticket so I am new to this.
Answers:
If it is your first ticket, and 9 over, you can just pay the fine. If you want to go to court, with only 9 over, especially if it is your first ticket, they will knock it down to driving with improper equipment, and it won't even count as a speeding ticket. You don't need a lawyer, the assistant DA who got stuck with traffic duty will walk in, you probably won't even see the judge. There will be 100 other people there for speeding tickets too, and they want to get this over as fast as possible. They will plea bargain it down as fast as they can to get rid of you.
Before you take the plea though, look around and see if the cop that wrote you the ticket is there. They are supposed to be there, but they often don't show up, and if they aren't there, and you don't take the plea, your case will be dismissed, and you won't have to pay anything. This is because you have the right to face your accuser (in this case, the cop) and if he isn't there, they can't continue without violating your constitutional rights. The cop's name should be on your ticket, so see if he is there.
I know this because I was stationed in North Carolina for a while and got 2 tickets while I was there. The first one, I took the plea, and got it knocked down. The second one, the cop never showed, and the case was dismissed. When I asked why, they explained that since the cop wasn't there, I couldn't face my accuser, and they weren't going to set a new court date over a speeding ticket.
Read your ticket, if it says "must appear" you have to go to court, if it doesn't, you can pay the court costs and fine before your court date at the clerk of courts office. (be sure to look at your ticket to see how many days you have to have it paid by before the court date) You will lose 2 points from your drivers license and your auto insurance will go up.
You should go to court without an attorney to get the fine and/or points reduced, a plea bargain for a reduced violation or if the officer who issued the ticket does not appear your case will be dimissed.
I have a pretty good past with speeding tickets, seatbelt tickets, improper equipment, and other traffic violations, hence why I looked into the law category first. It isn't a great thing to be an "expert" on but I truly believe that I know the best route you can take.
You're going to want to get it reduced to improper equipment. It won't be so hard to do and you really don't need a lawyer. That's money that you don't need to spend.
The best thing you can do, if you have the time, is go get your speedometer checked by an expert. It shouldnt cost you anything if you know a garage well or tell them the situation. At most it might cost you 10-20 bucks.
Then ask them to print out a receipt/proof of adjusment. When you go into the court tell the DA that you believe that it was a problem with your speedometer and took the necessary precautions, show them the proof, and they will automatically give you improper equipment. I did this personally and it worked quite well. Imporoper equipment goes on your record but it isnt any points on your license or insurance and you only have to pay the court costs.
Some other things to take into consideration:
1. Dress up. They're more likely to help you and take you seriously if you look presentable.
2. If the police officer who gave you the ticket isn't there then it should be dismissed anyway. That's a law.
3. Even if it says on the back of the ticket that you don't have to show up in court, I wouldn't suggest not going. If you just go ahead and pay the court costs, there WILL be points on your license and your insurance WILL go up.
These are things that can be avoided by getting it reduced to improper equipment and since this is your first offense it is an option.
The last and final option is PJC, which stands for Prayer for Judgment Continued. It's something special is some states. You can check to see if your state has it. It's basically a one-time "freebie" where it basically goes on your record as a conviction but you don't have any points on your license or insurance. There are two downsides to this:
1. There's only one every 3 years per insurance so if your wife, kids, or parents are on your insurance and have used one in the past 3 years then you can't use it and if they need it then they can't use it either.
2. It doesnt go away for 3 years and if you have ANY other kind of violation including alcohol violations or any kind of moving violations then not only do you have the insurance points and rise in insurance from the new offense, but the old offense comes back.
The improper equipment really should work but if you go in there and try it and for some reason the DA is rough and won't let you, the PJC is something to fall back on. Definitely try to get it reduced to improper equipment first because since it's only 9 over you should really save your PJC for something more serious.
Hope that helps and goodluck with everything!!
If it's your first minor violation on record and you plead guilty in court your fine will be reduced to a defective vehicle which will also reduce the points on your license.
If the ticket is unjust - bring a lawyer. If it's accurate just step up and be a man about it. Doesn't sound too serious so they might offer traffic school as an alternative. If they do - take it because then your insurance won't be impacted.
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Answer question:
More Law Questions and Answers:
Do I just show up by myself at the Court house?
This is my first ticket so I am new to this.
Answers:
If it is your first ticket, and 9 over, you can just pay the fine. If you want to go to court, with only 9 over, especially if it is your first ticket, they will knock it down to driving with improper equipment, and it won't even count as a speeding ticket. You don't need a lawyer, the assistant DA who got stuck with traffic duty will walk in, you probably won't even see the judge. There will be 100 other people there for speeding tickets too, and they want to get this over as fast as possible. They will plea bargain it down as fast as they can to get rid of you.
Before you take the plea though, look around and see if the cop that wrote you the ticket is there. They are supposed to be there, but they often don't show up, and if they aren't there, and you don't take the plea, your case will be dismissed, and you won't have to pay anything. This is because you have the right to face your accuser (in this case, the cop) and if he isn't there, they can't continue without violating your constitutional rights. The cop's name should be on your ticket, so see if he is there.
I know this because I was stationed in North Carolina for a while and got 2 tickets while I was there. The first one, I took the plea, and got it knocked down. The second one, the cop never showed, and the case was dismissed. When I asked why, they explained that since the cop wasn't there, I couldn't face my accuser, and they weren't going to set a new court date over a speeding ticket.
Read your ticket, if it says "must appear" you have to go to court, if it doesn't, you can pay the court costs and fine before your court date at the clerk of courts office. (be sure to look at your ticket to see how many days you have to have it paid by before the court date) You will lose 2 points from your drivers license and your auto insurance will go up.
You should go to court without an attorney to get the fine and/or points reduced, a plea bargain for a reduced violation or if the officer who issued the ticket does not appear your case will be dimissed.
I have a pretty good past with speeding tickets, seatbelt tickets, improper equipment, and other traffic violations, hence why I looked into the law category first. It isn't a great thing to be an "expert" on but I truly believe that I know the best route you can take.
You're going to want to get it reduced to improper equipment. It won't be so hard to do and you really don't need a lawyer. That's money that you don't need to spend.
The best thing you can do, if you have the time, is go get your speedometer checked by an expert. It shouldnt cost you anything if you know a garage well or tell them the situation. At most it might cost you 10-20 bucks.
Then ask them to print out a receipt/proof of adjusment. When you go into the court tell the DA that you believe that it was a problem with your speedometer and took the necessary precautions, show them the proof, and they will automatically give you improper equipment. I did this personally and it worked quite well. Imporoper equipment goes on your record but it isnt any points on your license or insurance and you only have to pay the court costs.
Some other things to take into consideration:
1. Dress up. They're more likely to help you and take you seriously if you look presentable.
2. If the police officer who gave you the ticket isn't there then it should be dismissed anyway. That's a law.
3. Even if it says on the back of the ticket that you don't have to show up in court, I wouldn't suggest not going. If you just go ahead and pay the court costs, there WILL be points on your license and your insurance WILL go up.
These are things that can be avoided by getting it reduced to improper equipment and since this is your first offense it is an option.
The last and final option is PJC, which stands for Prayer for Judgment Continued. It's something special is some states. You can check to see if your state has it. It's basically a one-time "freebie" where it basically goes on your record as a conviction but you don't have any points on your license or insurance. There are two downsides to this:
1. There's only one every 3 years per insurance so if your wife, kids, or parents are on your insurance and have used one in the past 3 years then you can't use it and if they need it then they can't use it either.
2. It doesnt go away for 3 years and if you have ANY other kind of violation including alcohol violations or any kind of moving violations then not only do you have the insurance points and rise in insurance from the new offense, but the old offense comes back.
The improper equipment really should work but if you go in there and try it and for some reason the DA is rough and won't let you, the PJC is something to fall back on. Definitely try to get it reduced to improper equipment first because since it's only 9 over you should really save your PJC for something more serious.
Hope that helps and goodluck with everything!!
If it's your first minor violation on record and you plead guilty in court your fine will be reduced to a defective vehicle which will also reduce the points on your license.
If the ticket is unjust - bring a lawyer. If it's accurate just step up and be a man about it. Doesn't sound too serious so they might offer traffic school as an alternative. If they do - take it because then your insurance won't be impacted.
The Answers post by the user, for information only, FreeLawAnswer does not guarantee the right.
Answer question:
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