If you’re planning to contest a speeding ticket, you’re probably wondering what that process looks like. While simply paying a ticket begins with signing the ticket and mailing it in with payment, fighting a ticket begins with retaining a traffic attorney.
From there…
When Folks Call Us, What Happens Next?
We begin with a simple conversation. Where did you receive the speeding ticket and how fast were you going? How far out is that court date printed on the ticket?
Once everyone is on the same page, we have clients sign the needed paperwork to allow us to represent them. From that point, we handle everything for you and you won’t need to appear in traffic court.
It’s ideal not to wait until the last minute, where that court date is a week away for instance, mainly because it’s easier to ensure as your attorney that we’ll be available to appear for you. Otherwise as long as you make these preparations before that date, you don’t have to alter your schedule to appear.
What happens on the court date?
For general speeding tickets, you don’t need to appear personally if you’ve hired an attorney. For the majority of our clients, this is the case and you won’t need to worry about the rest of this section.
For speeding tickets where your attorney appears for you, the matter is settled in one session and you’ll have news of the outcome right away.
In more serious traffic violations (like DUIs or reckless driving) where there’s a hearing involved, the court may insist that you be present even with your attorney.
Plan to give yourself 30 extra minutes before when your hearing is scheduled to ensure you have time for parking and getting through courthouse security. Being late for your hearing makes it more difficult right out the gate to obtain a favorable outcome.
In a hearing, the assistant district attorney often likes to have a brief meeting with you before the actual hearing. This is where you can share your defense, and in some cases plead the offense down or get it dismissed.
It’s important to come prepared and have your information well organized because these meetings are short and the assistant district attorney may not be lenient with you. If a deal can’t be reached there, it proceeds to the actual hearing with the judge.
The hearing begins with the judge reading the traffic offenses you’ve been charged with, and you will enter your plea. Presumably if you’ve hired an attorney you intend to plead not guilty, at which point a couple things may happen.
If you need additional time to gather information for your defense, your attorney can ask for a continuance and the judge may set a future court date for the trial. In other cases, though, the judge may opt to begin the trial in that session, so you need to be as prepared as you can.
While we often talk specifically about speeding tickets, you should definitely retain an attorney if you’ve been charged with a more serious offense, such as reckless driving or violations involving traffic accidents.
Call us today to discuss your case!
Will McElwee has been a traffic attorney for over 25 years, and has established a solid track record helping folks from Boone and Wilkesboro to Winston Salem address traffic tickets. His family has a long and fruitful history in the area: the McElwee Law Firm began in 1932. Will’s grandfather, William H. McElwee, Jr., was a former president of the North Carolina Bar and sat on North Carolina’s Board of Law Examiners for many years.
As a “Double Deac,” Will attended Wake Forest University for both undergraduate and law school. He is a certified Superior Court and Family Financial Mediator and is also certified in the field of collaborative law.
