Traffic tickets and traffic court

"He who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client." OLD PROVERB

TRAFFIC TICKETS are a pain.  They require you to take time away from work, or school, or family to sit in a crowded courtroom, not knowing how long you will be there, worrying that you might say the wrong thing to the judge or the prosecutor and end up with a moving violation on your driving record.

Traffic tickets are also worrisome because your driving privileges can be taken away if you have too many moving violations on your record, or if you fail to show up in court at the proper time.  Finally, the more serious traffic offenses carry jail sentences or mandatory license suspensions, or both.

If you receive a traffic ticket, talk to an experienced traffic defense attorney before your first court appearance.  We can take the pain and the worry out of your traffic case.  We work on traffic cases every day, and we have represented clients in traffic courts throughout Kansas.  We will appear for you in court and, if possible, have the charge amended to a non-moving violation which will not appear on your driving record.  Additionally, the total cost of attorney fees, fines and court costs on the amended charge may be less than the increase in your auto insurance premium if your insurance carrier finds a moving violation on your driving record.

What you need to know about traffic court:

Living in America, we enjoy many freedoms.  Among them is the freedom to make a decision for which there will be a raft of negative consequences for many years to come - like pleading guilty to a traffic infraction without first exploring other dispositions.  A traffic ticket conviction could make it easier for the state to suspend or withdraw your driving privilege.  A conviction could drive up your insurance premiums far beyond the cost of hiring a lawyer.  Some traffic courts require you to be represented by an attorney in order to have the charge reduced (amended to a non-moving violation).  Other traffic courts will let you represent yourself, and let you speak directly to the judge or the prosecutor to ask for an amendment of the charges against you.

Here is how to handle a routine traffic ticket by yourself:

• Show up in person and on time. Do not wear "dirty" or "torn" clothing, or clothing that is "too revealing." (Those terms will be defined for you by the judge.) Take off your hat and TURN OFF your mobile phone and PDA. If your phone or PDA goes off in court, it may be confiscated, and you may have to pay money to get it back.
• Ask someone who appears to be in charge (the clerk, the bailiff, the prosecutor, the judge) if you can have your offense amended to a non-moving violation. Expect to hear that you need a lawyer to "get an amendment." If you don't hear that, follow the instructions given to you by this person.
• Take to court with you enough money to pay double the amount of the fine printed on your ticket, plus court costs. This amount of money will be close to what you will be assessed on an amended charge. It is up to you to figure out, in advance, how much money you will need to have.
• Wait patiently. The squeaky wheel does not get the grease in traffic court. Take with you something to read; you may be there for a few hours.

You should try to amend every traffic ticket.  If you think you can represent yourself in traffic court, try it.  But if the time and aggravation of traffic court is too much for you, give us a call.  Before you pay us any fee, we will tell you if we think your charge can be amended to a non-moving violation, and what the total amount of fines, court costs and attorney fees will be.