Advice about traffic citations (Dallas, Plano: insurance, attorney, school)

[uhuru]

We live in Tampa and we were visiting my daughter in Plano, TX.

My wife was driving my daughter's car and she got stopped for driving at 10mph over the limit in a school zone, literally five minutes before the expiration time for the lower speed limit. When she was asked for her driver's license, she literally could not locate it in her handbag. So she was issued two citations - including one for not having her license. The police officer told her that she could report to the courthouse the next day with the license and they would remove that citation. She went there with her license and the clerk told her that because it was a FL license, she could not dismiss it but would have to appear in court before a judge to resolve it.

The fine for the two violations was a total of $550. We have a court appearance scheduled for January first week and by coincidence we were going to be in Dallas about 4 days later in any event. So she could be there earlier for the court appearance if needs be.

My questions:

Is it worth appearing in court in the hope that the citations will be dismissed or at the least the fine will be reduced?

Is this something that can be done through an attorney and, if so, will the attorney's fees make it not worthwhile?

Should she just pay the fine rather than waste time on the court appearance especially if the likelihood is that a judge will just order her to pay it.

FWIW, my wife is a senior citizen and has a clean driving record and has not had a moving violation in the past 20 years at least. The fine for not producing a license was about half the total fine of $550 and the rest of it was for speeding.

I would appreciate any feedback on what the best course of action would be.

[jbb303]

I'm not an attorney and I'm just speaking based on my experience on handling my own tickets in the past.


I would be surprised if the license citation wasn't dismissed. Most violations where you fail to provide proof (insurance, registration, license, etc.) are typically dismissed if you provide proof in a certain time frame. There's usually a small convenience fee or court cost involved.


With a school zone violation, going through an attorney probably won't help her lower the fine, but it could help with better probation terms that keep it off of her record. In my experience, the attorney fees aren't terribly high and can always be worth it if it keeps you from having to spend time going to court. That said, if there's already a deferred disposition option available for the speeding ticket prior to going to court, I would take that up front. It's usually the cost of the fine and, since you live out of state, the longer probation period wouldn't be a problem.


If she goes to court, I would avoid the "literally five minutes before the expiration time" argument. Yeah, your wife probably wasn't putting anyone in eminent danger and that point could have earned her some discretion with the officer on the side of the road, but I wouldn't expect a judge to be swayed by it at all.

[uhuru]

Originally Posted by jbb303

I'm not an attorney and I'm just speaking based on my experience on handling my own tickets in the past.


I would be surprised if the license citation wasn't dismissed. Most violations where you fail to provide proof (insurance, registration, license, etc.) are typically dismissed if you provide proof in a certain time frame. There's usually a small convenience fee or court cost involved.


With a school zone violation, going through an attorney probably won't help her lower the fine, but it could help with better probation terms that keep it off of her record. In my experience, the attorney fees aren't terribly high and can always be worth it if it keeps you from having to spend time going to court. That said, if there's already a deferred disposition option available for the speeding ticket prior to going to court, I would take that up front. It's usually the cost of the fine and, since you live out of state, the longer probation period wouldn't be a problem.


If she goes to court, I would avoid the "literally five minutes before the expiration time" argument. Yeah, your wife probably wasn't putting anyone in eminent danger and that point could have earned her some discretion with the officer on the side of the road, but I wouldn't expect a judge to be swayed by it at all.

Very helpful information. The deferred disposition option would make sense for the speeding ticket. I guess she'd have to appear in court to get the ticket for not being in possession of the driver's license waived or dismissed.

Given this, would it make sense to appear before a judge in any event?

[jbb303]

I'm really surprised they require a court appearance for that, even with the out of state license. I feel like the no license ticket would be dismissed for the nominal court fee, but I sure would hate to make the appearance and still end up having to pay the full fine or even a large portion of it. You might try calling an attorney that handles traffic tickets in Collin County and see if they'll offer you any advice over the phone without hiring them. It's definitely worth a shot. Same for calling the court clerk directly to see if they can give you any insight. If showing up gives you a good chance of getting by for $25 or $50 for a dismissal, then it's worth it. If there's a good chance you're still getting stuck with the full fine, I wouldn't bother appearing and just pay the full fine.

[bigbear63]

Probably best to start here: https://www.plano.gov/372/Deferred-Disposition
But school zones are a big no-no here so I would not expect a lot of relief on this. Pay the fine and move on. And watch your speed limit too.