Speeding ticket In Tifton (Atlanta: insurance, how much, lawyer)

[pintobean11]

What's up ya'll? Well driving from Atlanta the other day I got stopped in Tifton for doing 17 over. I live in Florida but I want to find out how much this ticket will cost if I mail it in or if it's worth it to make the drive and plead not guilty to a less charge. What do they reduce it down to in Georgia?

TIA.

[Shagbark Hickory]

Plead not guilty to a less charge??? What the heck does that mean?
What makes you think they are going to reduce it if you plead not guilty?
If you take it to trial and are found guilty, you'd be lucky not to pay more than the original fine. They usually threaten that in so many words at the pre-trial hearing.

[pintobean11]

I guess things are different than NY. I could send the ticket in, go to the trial and more than likely it will get reduced to a lesser charge. Actually it always gets reduced down to a lesser violation.

[Shagbark Hickory]

You're saying you could get a $180 speeding ticket and take it to court, have the state go through the expense of summonsing the cop and all the other court costs and then after all that make a deal with you for a $50 jaywalking ticket?

That's pretty sweet but it doesn't work that way here.

What does sometimes happen is if you go to the pre-trial hearing, they may give you the option of going to traffic school and paying the fine and in exchange for not taking it to traffic court, they will knock off the points.
That you may have a shot at.

If you go all the way to traffic court just to plead guilty, you may end up paying more than the orginal fine. I've not heard of this happening to anyone but have been before more than my fair share of judges who have threatened it at the pre-trial hearing.

[pintobean11]

They would give you the offer of not taking it too court so they wouldn't have to go through all the trouble of summoning the PO in. Usually a speeding ticket would get knocked down to a failure to yield or something like that.

Sounds like I might be better off just paying the damn thing and calling it a day.

Any other input? Do people in Tifton not own computers?

[Shagbark Hickory]

The people in Tifton are all in on it.
(The ticket racket)

So yeah, you could try it but you run the risk of getting a higher fine.
If your license is on the verge of suspension or if you can't afford the ticket or the increased insurance rates, You might go and just plead with the judge for some mercy but it's a roll of the dice.

[pintobean11]

Well I can afford it all but it always helps to save a few bucks.

[atlantagreg30127]

You need to consult with a lawyer for any information about tickets now. No one here can dispense ideas or info because it could be considered "advice", and only a lawyer can give you advice on legal matters such as this.