Another "I need help with a traffic ticket" thread

As long as you don't have a CDL, I'm pretty sure you can just either pay the ticket and opt for differed adjudication or take defensive driving.

 

Funny you say that.

I got a ticket last month and hired a lawyer just to show up at court and enter a plea on my behalf, simply because I wasn't going to be able to make it to court at that time of day.

Instead, guess what happens? The lawyers/court got tickets numbers mixed up and a lawyer did NOT show up to court on my behalf, thereby granting me an FTA (Failure to Appear - Custody).

I am still trying to figure out what those guys will do about it since it was their mistake, and meanwhile continue to drive and hope I won't get pulled over and arrested due to no fault of my own.

Not sure what my next step will be.

 

www.valentineone.com

almost got my license suspended because of tickets. since i got a valentine one i havent gotten a ticket in years. youd be suprised how many cops ride around with their radar on. a valentine probably would have even alerted you the cop was near you while you failed to make a complete stop.

 

Just go to court on your scheduled court date, tell them that you're willing to plead guilty and pay off the ticket but you want it kept off your record. It worked in the past.

You have to understand the basic premise here: the city uses traffic tickets as a way to bring in more revenue, that way they can get raises/bonuses/etc. Basically, to them it's a business, and in cities like Houston business is great!

All they want from you is your money, they will keep it off your record if that guarantees that you pay.

 

Well they're gonna get they're money whether you plead guilty or not, what with all the fees they've added to traffic tickets over the years. I swear when I pleaded no contest (defesnive driving) for my ticket back in the winter, I almost paid just as much money as if I had paid off the damn thing. They still charge you a freakin court fee even though I didn't take it to court. WTF?!

 

Umm...no, they don't!

If you plead not guilty and your ticket is dismissed for whatever reason, they don't get one cent out of you.

The reason why the courts are willing to negotiate with people (either reduce the fine or keep it off your record) is because if you plead guilty upfront, they're assured that they will get some money out of you...mission accomplished! On the other hand, if they fail to make some kind of 'deal' with you to get you to plead guilty, they risk getting nothing out of you in case the officer fails to show up or you successfully argue your case/hire a lawyer to do it on your behalf.

 

Well, they do get court costs. You pay those no matter what happens.

Oski, if your record is clean for the last year, just take deferred adjudication. If you don't get a ticket for 6 months, it doesn't go on your record. Or Defensive Driving is another option. You can take it online now. You can take the whole class at once, or you can start and stop it anytime. It's EASY.

Kind of related, but my registration sticker expired in January.....of 2004. I've got two tickets for it, but both times, the judge dismissed them. WTF? What exactly is my motivation for updating my registration?

 

Which firm did this so we can avoid them?

 

How did they get dismissed?

 

I literally went before the judge and he said "OK, expired registration? I'm going to drop that, OK?" I was like "uh.....OK?" And that was it. I'm totally serious.

Both times the court was on a Saturday morning. Maybe the Saturday judge is more lenient? Maybe he just wants to get the hell out of there as much as we do.

 

Saturday Judge is just like Weekend Dad. He lets the kids get away with everything because he just wants to be loved.

 

Call David Sprecker.

 

It's DEFERRED ADJUDICATION, not "differred". You are accepting guilt, pay a higher fee than for the ticket, but your ticket is erased from memory and does not affect your insurance. You cannot have done defensive driving before the ticket.

I can't believe you are recommending a "valentine one", Gummi... does this mean that you're breaking the law all the time until your radar detector blinks?

Drive safely ALL the time, people, please...

 

Do they this type of thing in Mexico...I've done Def. Adj. and it should be done by summer, but I did get denied for DA last year from a small town near Austin...

 

IIRC, i took defensive driving before my court date. the DD class sent a certified document to the courts after i was done and i was clear. all i was out of was the cost of DD. everything was cleared on my driving record. i never saw a judge.

this was over 5 years ago, so things may have changed. i just don't remember it being so complex as you guys are describing.

 

i have traffic court tonight at 9 PM

since when did COH have nightime court dates?

 

BTW - Which courthouse is it?