Quick Tips – Dismiss a Traffic Ticket in Florida
I have to admit it, for a very long time I handled my traffic tickets myself. Of course, I was in high school and not very wise to the ways of the world. Specifically, I did not even know that you could hire a lawyer to fight a traffic ticket. I don’t think there was such a thing as a speeding ticket lawyer when I was in high school. In any event, I handled my speeding tickets myself. At the tender age of 16, I quickly found out how much I did not know. I was in way over my head and ended up getting slammed every time I went to court. That is just one of the reasons I became a traffic ticket lawyer. But that’s a story for another day. Today I want to give some free advice to those people out there that want to try and get their traffic ticket dismissed by themselves. I will add one caveat thought before I begin. If you have the means to hire an experienced traffic ticket lawyer, you should hire one. Most people who represent themselves are unsuccessful for a ton of reasons. Remember, some lawyers like the Traffic Ticket Team only charge a nominal fee and offer a refund if you get points in most cases. To that end, here are some suggestions for you if you go to court yourself.
The Cop Is A No Show – First Way to Get A Traffic Ticket Dismissed
This is by far the easiest way to get your traffic ticket dismissed. If the cop does not come to court, you can ask the Judge to dismiss your traffic ticket. There are usually two reasons that the Judge will not dismiss your ticket. The first is that the officer me have asked for a continuance and nobody told you. That’s right, you took off of work or school and waited for hours and nobody had the courtesy to tell you until your name was called. This happens all the time and it is just plain unfair. The second reason is that the first hearing on a traffic ticket, in some jurisdictions, is pre-trial hearings. This means that the cop does not need to show up. It is a hearing whereby you agree to plea your case out or ask for a trail. If you ask for a trial, you will have a trial a month or two later and that is when the cop needs to come. Nobody tells you this so think twice before taking a day off of work.
Second Way – Simple Ask “Can you dismiss my traffic ticket?”
This is an expression my parents would use and I happen to believe it in the law and in life. When you get to court for your trial, ask the cop if he will dismiss the ticket. Unlike a criminal case where the State Attorney is the prosecutor, in traffic court, the cop is the prosecutor. He can dismiss the ticket if he wants to. Why would a cop ever agree to dismiss a ticket that he wrote? Because he is human. Maybe you have a really good excuse. If your parent just died and you were not paying attention, tell the cop. If you are an attractive single woman and the cop is a man, use your powers of persuasion. Same applies to men and female cops. Don’t make excuses like “I was late for work.” However, if you have a reasonable reason for speeding, tell the cop and ask for a break. If he says no, at least ask if he will agree to a withhold adjudication. That way you won’t get points on your record. If he says no to that, then you may as well take your chances at trial or ask the judge what he will impose if you agree to a plea. Don’t be afraid to ask the Judge for a break either. You can tell him that you want to resolve this case, but want to keep points off your record. He will probably give you a break and withhold the points and just give you a fine. He may even give you driving school. Again, if you don’t ask you don’t get.
Last Way To Dismiss Your Florida Traffic Ticket
If you followed step 2 the worst thing the officer can say is no and then you need to apply your legal knowledge. This can be attained in three ways:
- The first is to reset your case for 5 years so you can go to law school and start practicing traffic ticket law.
- The second way is to go to court a few weeks before and watch the traffic ticket lawyers in court. Watch what legal arguments they make and loopholes they cite. Bring a pad and paper and take notes. There are dozens of legal arguments that can be made to have a traffic ticket thrown out. Just make sure you are watching the right lawyers.
- The third way is to hire attorneys like The Traffic Ticket Team and save yourself time by having a professional resource.
If the third option is your choice, call us today at (561) 752-9288 for a FREE consultation and see if we can help to get you Florida traffic ticket dismissed.
Traffic Ticket FAQs
Generally, no. However, due to the mobility of cars, time does not permit a search warrant to be obtained. As a result, vigilant police are motivated to search suspicious automobiles. However, the police officer must have probable cause to believe that contraband is concealed somewhere. In essence, merely being stopped for speeding should not allow the officer to search your car; however, if the officer saw you throw an empty beer can out the window that may be sufficient probable cause to search your car. Or, if the officer smells marijuana as he approaches the car, he may have a reasonable suspicion to search. It is unreasonable to make a search of an automobile when the arrest is for a minor traffic violation (like speeding), as a subterfuge for a search for evidence of a serious crime. Yet, the many automobile exceptions are based on the lower expectation to the right of privacy in a car versus a home and the fact that cars are mobile and evidence can be more readily disposed.
There is something called the Driver’s License Compact which is an agreement between states to share driving record information with one another. So, getting a ticket in Texas will more than likely show up in New York and vice versa. However, although that is the case, there is always the slight possibility that it won’t. There are currently 5 states which do not share information with the rest of the country. They are Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. So, if you get a ticket in one of these states, chances are your home state will not find out about it.
This is a very popular misconception. Although the ‘right’ mistakes on a ticket do have the power to have it dismissed, most mistakes don’t. Things like misspelled names, a slight variation of color written down for your vehicle, and similar mistakes will not have a bearing on the case. The right mistakes are what the court calls ‘fatal flaws’ on a ticket.
If it’s for a moving violation such as speeding, ignoring it may result in a suspended license and/or a bench warrant being issued for your arrest. This is true even if you got the ticket outside of your home state.
Regardless of whether or not you are guilty of exceeding the speed limit by a few miles, it isn’t fair for you to have to pay $300 – $1,000 price tag! When you add the raised insurance premiums, you stand to lose a lot of money. It’s in your best financial interest to fight all traffic tickets… guilty or not!
If you get a traffic ticket, a defense attorney can appear for you at a hearing, challenge the law enforcement officer to prove the infraction beyond a reasonable doubt, and minimize the damage to your driving record by requesting that no points be assessed by the court. As your traffic ticket attorneys, we may be able to get the court to allow you to take a driving school option when you are ineligible by statute, either due to a recent driving school election or because the maximum school allowance has been surpassed. We also plea bargain with the Judge for the best result.
A suspension will be entered against your driver’s license which could affect your insurance rates and subject you to additional penalties.
A civil traffic infraction is a non-criminal charge such as a speeding violation, that can usually be disposed of by payment of a civil penalty or an election to attend a defensive driving school course. A court appearance is not required, except in cases were the violation involves an accident, excessive speed, accident with serious bodily injury or fatality to another.
A criminal traffic or misdemeanor charge requires a court appearance and carries with it criminal penalties which may include a fine and/or the possibility of a jail term. These include reckless driving, driving under the influence DUI or DWI, racing, etc. In many instances, the police will arrest you for these traffic criminal violations.
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