Need advice on a reckless ticket in VA

Jordo! · 06-04-2011, 07:42 PM

I've gotten a traffic lawyer before -- if you can find one who is good, knows the judges, etc, it's worth it.

No guarantee he'd be able to get you off, but the odds are worth taking the chance, especially if you will rack up a lot of points for the ticket.

Anyway -- that's the reason to do it: To avoid getting the points. You may or may not get stuck with the fine, but the lawyer should at least be able to keep the points off of your record.

b1adesofcha0s · 06-04-2011, 07:48 PM

Just wondering, how much would s good lawyer for a traffic ticket cost?

frost · 06-04-2011, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b1adesofcha0s

Just wondering, how much would s good lawyer for a traffic ticket cost?

Depends on what all you want them to do for you. Just showing up to court can cost $100-300. Contesting the ticket, a few hundred bucks up to a couple grand.

frost · 06-04-2011, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frost

Depends on what all you want them to do for you. Just showing up to court can cost $100-300. Contesting the ticket, a few hundred bucks up to a couple grand.

I have some experience in this since I have fought several kinds of tickets. A couple of my favs include "displaying fictitious plates" here in AZ, and doing 114 in texas.

PapoZalsa · 06-04-2011, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frost

I have some experience in this since I have fought several kinds of tickets. A couple of my favs include "displaying fictitious plates" here in AZ, and doing 114 in texas.

"displaying fictitious plates"

What you do, altering a number on the plate?

frost · 06-04-2011, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapoZalsa

"displaying fictitious plates"

What you do, altering a number on the plate?

Naw, totally dealership's fault. They stuck the wrong plate on a the car. (So my volkswagen had a saturn plate on it).

Edit: It was my first day with the car. Cop thought it was a stolen car, pulled me over with all my friends and had us all sitting on a curb in 110 degree heat.

Red__Zed · 06-04-2011, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frost

Everyone has this dream that they are going to go into the courtroom and somehow get the cop to flub up and the case gets dismissed. Just my opinion, but I'd think a better plan would be planning on going to court to own up to screwing up, asking for forgiveness in the form of reducing the crime, and letting the cards fall where they may.

Again, just the opinion of this guy, but going in there trying to disprove the radar is likely to just annoy both the cop and the judge.

Done it twice.

You Don't pull it in court, you request records beforehand. Most departments require daily calibration. If your officer forgot, you're off free.

frost · 06-04-2011, 10:09 PM

I've watched an ***-load of court cases and never seen a cop come without the calibration records. Sounds like you have a bunch of slackers

Red__Zed · 06-04-2011, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frost

I've watched an ***-load of court cases and never seen a cop come without the calibration records. Sounds like you have a bunch of slackers

Most tickets don't get contested in VA because there's a lot of money here, and a penalty for contesting the ticket. We also happen to have very strict calibration requirements-- some departments require that the gun be calibrated between issuing tickets.

I've found (mostly from helping friends) that if you start requesting information in advance, you will usually get a phone call from the officer offering to work a deal with you

frost · 06-04-2011, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red__Zed

Most tickets don't get contested in VA because there's a lot of money here, and a penalty for contesting the ticket. We also happen to have very strict calibration requirements-- some departments require that the gun be calibrated between issuing tickets.

I've found (mostly from helping friends) that if you start requesting information in advance, you will usually get a phone call from the officer offering to work a deal with you

That might be a big difference, no penalty for fighting tickets here. So our officers might automatically plan on fighting tickets. I also don't get the impression that our cops or courts put much effort into settling tickets outside of court. I'm not sure how often they are required to calibrate though. I'd find it very hard to believe it's anywhere near that frequent though.

BennytheBlade · 06-04-2011, 10:53 PM

In East Texas, there is a good chance the officer wont even show up for court. They have like 1 officer for every 1000 square miles.

eastwest2300 · 06-05-2011, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frost

Naw, totally dealership's fault. They stuck the wrong plate on a the car. (So my volkswagen had a saturn plate on it).

Edit: It was my first day with the car. Cop thought it was a stolen car, pulled me over with all my friends and had us all sitting on a curb in 110 degree heat.

Damn dude, that sucks.. I think I woulda been highly upset.

b1adesofcha0s · 06-05-2011, 02:07 PM

My mom got out of her last speeding ticket because the officer didn't show up.

Jessobear · 06-06-2011, 08:48 AM

So if you wanted to find a lawyer, how would you even go about doing that? This isn't the kind of thing I keep abreast of.

I'm pretty sure points don't matter at all to me because I don't live in VA and have an out-of-state license. When I got the one previous speeding ticket in VA, there were definitely no points involved (I had an IL license at the time). I just paid the fine and went on with my life.

Red__Zed · 06-06-2011, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessobear

So if you wanted to find a lawyer, how would you even go about doing that? This isn't the kind of thing I keep abreast of.

I'm pretty sure points don't matter at all to me because I don't live in VA and have an out-of-state license. When I got the one previous speeding ticket in VA, there were definitely no points involved (I had an IL license at the time). I just paid the fine and went on with my life.

VA now has reciprocity with pretty much everyone but TN. More importantly, insurance will find out.

For a lawyer, get a referral. What country was the ticket in?

06-04-2011, 07:42 PM	#16 (permalink)
Jordo! A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: nirvana Posts: 6,394 Drives: 2023 NATM Rep Power: 418	I've gotten a traffic lawyer before -- if you can find one who is good, knows the judges, etc, it's worth it. No guarantee he'd be able to get you off, but the odds are worth taking the chance, especially if you will rack up a lot of points for the ticket. Anyway -- that's the reason to do it: To avoid getting the points. You may or may not get stuck with the fine, but the lawyer should at least be able to keep the points off of your record. __________________ Enjoy it. Destroy it. Last edited by Jordo!; 06-04-2011 at 07:45 PM.

06-04-2011, 07:48 PM	#17 (permalink)
b1adesofcha0s A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: MD Posts: 40,963 Drives: HypeTrain Choo Choo! Rep Power: 141	Just wondering, how much would s good lawyer for a traffic ticket cost? __________________ Project: b1adeZmobile (2009 370Z) \| Uprev Tune by AAM Competition \| Berk Exhaust Project: b1adeZmobile 2.0 (2014 C7 Z51) \| Corsa Xtreme Exhaust

06-04-2011, 10:53 PM	#26 (permalink)
BennytheBlade Base Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Huntsville Posts: 180 Drives: 09 Black 370 NISMO Rep Power: 16	In East Texas, there is a good chance the officer wont even show up for court. They have like 1 officer for every 1000 square miles. __________________ Forged Specialties SC 6 Bronze 19x9.5 +22 19x10.5+12\|Hankook Evo 255/35/19 305/30/19 Berk HFC \| BM Short Shifter \|Stillen G3 Intake

06-05-2011, 02:07 PM	#28 (permalink)
b1adesofcha0s A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: MD Posts: 40,963 Drives: HypeTrain Choo Choo! Rep Power: 141	My mom got out of her last speeding ticket because the officer didn't show up. __________________ Project: b1adeZmobile (2009 370Z) \| Uprev Tune by AAM Competition \| Berk Exhaust Project: b1adeZmobile 2.0 (2014 C7 Z51) \| Corsa Xtreme Exhaust

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06-06-2011, 08:48 AM	#29 (permalink)
Jessobear Base Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 201 Drives: '10 370Z Tour/Sp M6 Rep Power: 15	So if you wanted to find a lawyer, how would you even go about doing that? This isn't the kind of thing I keep abreast of. I'm pretty sure points don't matter at all to me because I don't live in VA and have an out-of-state license. When I got the one previous speeding ticket in VA, there were definitely no points involved (I had an IL license at the time). I just paid the fine and went on with my life.