Should I get an attorney for a traffic ticket? (Atlanta: credit, how much)

[george020106]

Hi,

I was recently stopped by a law enforcement downtown in Atlanta, GA and was charged with obedience to traffic control devices.

I tried to turn left at night one day. Since there were two cars coming to my face and the light was green, I decided to move into the intersection and turn after they passed. But the light was yellow when they passed, and left the red light for me. I thought I could not block the intersection, so I turned when the lights were all red. Then I pulled over by a police officer.

This is my first ticket and I believe it is 3 points on my driving license. I checked it and will cost me ~$200, if I pay the ticket online.

Should I get a lawyer to have a chance to zero the points and reduce the fee? How much does the lawyer cost here? And how do I know that he will not take my matter too lightly and help me out, not just go after money.

Any input will be appreciated.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by george020106

Hi,

I was recently stopped by a law enforcement downtown in Atlanta, GA and was charged with obedience to traffic control devices.

I tried to turn left at night one day. Since there were two cars coming to my face and the light was green, I decided to move into the intersection and turn after they passed. But the light was yellow when they passed, and left the red light for me. I thought I could not block the intersection, so I turned when the lights were all red. Then I pulled over by a police officer.

This is my first ticket and I believe it is 3 points on my driving license. I checked it and will cost me ~$200, if I pay the ticket online.

Should I get a lawyer to have a chance to zero the points and reduce the fee? How much does the lawyer cost here? And how do I know that he will not take my matter too lightly and help me out, not just go after money.

Any input will be appreciated.

If it is of the utmost critical importance that you keep a clean driving record (because of a driving job and/or a job that requires a lot of driving and a crystal-clean driving record as a condition of your continued employment) then yes, you most definitely should get a lawyer so that you may have a better chance of successfully negotiating down the cost of the ticket (which will be MUCH more than $200 after the City of Atlanta adds on extra court, public safety and slush fund fees to the final cost of the ticket) and the charges (and the points on your license).

You should also seek out a (good) lawyer just in case you happen to get stopped and hit with another ticket in the not-too-distant future, something for which some judges (depending on how ruthless and money-hungry the locality in question and how ornery a particular judge may be) may increase your fine or even throw you in jail for a few days as many judges (particularly judges in smaller municipalities where they may like to take an unnecessarily hard line on minor traffic violations) don't like.

Many municipalities in Georgia add $100 for each previous traffic conviction that one may have on one's driving record within the last so many years.

Also, keep-in-mind that many seemingly minor traffic convictions in Georgia count as misdemeanors that go on one's permanent criminal record.

...You should definitely seriously think about getting a lawyer.

[Born 2 Roll]

You can also take an 8-hour defensive driving course (at a state-licensed DUI/Driving School) and receive a credit which can be used to deduct up to 7 points from your license once every 5 years.

...Meaning that you can take a defensive driving course ahead of time, receive a certificate that is good for a points reduction of up to 7 points and then use that certificate reduce the number of points on your license once at anytime within 5 years as may be needed after successfully completing that defensive driving course and receiving the points reduction certificate.

Points and Points Reduction

From the link:

Points Reductions

How do I obtain a Points Reduction?
In accordance with O.C.G.A §40-5-86, licensed Georgia residents may request that DDS reduce the number of points assessed against their Georgia driver's license up to 7 points once every 5 years.
To qualify for a Points Reduction, you must successfully complete a certified Driver Improvement (defensive driving) course and present the original certificate of completion to the DDS by mail or in person at one of our Customer Service Centers.
If you request a Points Reduction by mail, please mail the original Driver Improvement (defensive driving) certificate of completion to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, P. O. Box 80447, Conyers, Georgia 30013.
A list of certified Driver Improvement (defensive driving) course can be found at the following link: http://www.dds.ga.gov/DUI/SchoolMatrix.aspx

[Mattie]

The most I would do is take the defensive driving course to negate the points. My son did that successfully, for the same offense. He was in the intersection waiting to make the left hand turn, when the light changed to red.

What I wouldn't do, is hire an attorney. My youngest got a super speeder ticket last spring in GA, three days before he left the country for several months. I had to handle it on his behalf. By the time I was finished with a very cordial conversation with the court clerk, it was reduced to 13 mph over, no points, $245 fine. The attorney would have just added to the final amount, and done nothing I couldn't do on my own.

[Newsboy]

A lawyer is gonna cost you way more than $200 ... just saying. Sounds like that cop was just looking to make his quota for the day. You can plead your case before the judge and see what happens. I've never had a problem with city of Atlanta traffic court. The judges there are FAR FAR more understanding and tolerant than the ones down in Fayette County ... TRUST ME, I KNOW!

[george020106]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

You can also take an 8-hour defensive driving course (at a state-licensed DUI/Driving School) and receive a credit which can be used to deduct up to 7 points from your license once every 5 years.

...Meaning that you can take a defensive driving course ahead of time, receive a certificate that is good for a points reduction of up to 7 points and then use that certificate reduce the number of points on your license once at anytime within 5 years as may be needed after successfully completing that defensive driving course and receiving the points reduction certificate.

Points and Points Reduction

From the link:

Really appreciate for your reply. Actually I have a certificate for the NSC Defensive Driving Course after I finished it last year. Will that be useful? What I need to do is just bring it to the court and ask for points and fine deduction politely, is that correct?

[george020106]

Originally Posted by Mattie

The most I would do is take the defensive driving course to negate the points. My son did that successfully, for the same offense. He was in the intersection waiting to make the left hand turn, when the light changed to red.

What I wouldn't do, is hire an attorney. My youngest got a super speeder ticket last spring in GA, three days before he left the country for several months. I had to handle it on his behalf. By the time I was finished with a very cordial conversation with the court clerk, it was reduced to 13 mph over, no points, $245 fine. The attorney would have just added to the final amount, and done nothing I couldn't do on my own.

Thanks for sharing your experience with me. Luckily I have an NSC Defensive Driving Course certificate now. Hope that will be helpful.

[george020106]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

A lawyer is gonna cost you way more than $200 ... just saying. Sounds like that cop was just looking to make his quota for the day. You can plead your case before the judge and see what happens. I've never had a problem with city of Atlanta traffic court. The judges there are FAR FAR more understanding and tolerant than the ones down in Fayette County ... TRUST ME, I KNOW!

Thanks for your input. What I am anxious is if I go to the court, will there be a risk for them to raise the fine or arrest me if I plead no guilty?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Mattie

The most I would do is take the defensive driving course to negate the points. My son did that successfully, for the same offense. He was in the intersection waiting to make the left hand turn, when the light changed to red.

What I wouldn't do, is hire an attorney. My youngest got a super speeder ticket last spring in GA, three days before he left the country for several months. I had to handle it on his behalf. By the time I was finished with a very cordial conversation with the court clerk, it was reduced to 13 mph over, no points, $245 fine. The attorney would have just added to the final amount, and done nothing I couldn't do on my own.

Good insight, but I would not necessarily tell the OP not to hire an attorney at all as everything depends on what municipality and what court/judge the case is going to be taking place in.

For some municipalities, like in the case of you and your son, you were able to have a cordial conversation with the court clerk and get the ticket reduced to no points, but it is not necessarily like that everywhere.

In the City of Atlanta, the OP will likely be a given a court date which they will appear at and likely be given another court date to appear at, either for trial or another preliminary court date.

In most municipalities and/or localities, the case is thrown-out by the judge if the ticketing officer does not show up to court for the defendant's trial.

I received a ticket for speeding while doing 80 in a 55 in the City of Atlanta about 7 years ago.

I received a court date and appeared and was given the option of paying the fine or continuing on with the court process at a later date.

I paid the fine (the base amount of the fine was about $150, but after all of the additional fees were added the total amount of the ticket came to about $250), but the City of Atlanta never reported the violation to DDS and I never received any points for the violation on my license, nor was a conviction for the violation ever placed on my driving record.

If this is the OP's first traffic violation, there's a decent chance that the OP may be able to escape having any points put on their license.

The OP may even be able to completely escape having any points placed on their license if the case goes to trial, the OP lucks completely out and the ticketing officer does not show up.

But that scenario often occurs after several continuances of the case which most often happens over a series of months and may be best handled by a GOOD attorney, particularly if the OP is totally unfamiliar with the traffic court that they will be dealing with.

With the City of Atlanta traffic court being one of the larger traffic courts in the metro area and with the way that the City of Atlanta traffic court is setup and functions (or sometimes does not function), it might be best if the OP retains a GOOD attorney, mostly to make sure that all their paperwork remains in order (...the OP does not want to experience an all-too-common scenario where they pay a fine, but end up in jail months later because Atlanta's sometimes loopy traffic court did not record the ticket properly and causes a warrant to be issued for their arrest because the computer system shows that the ticket was never paid when it really was).

The OP can increase their chances of retaining a good attorney by interviewing and talking to different attorneys and seeing what each different attorney knows about the court and the judge that will be hearing their case after the OP has had the first preliminary court date/hearing.

If the OP does not like the attorney's tone when they talk to them (or cannot even get a hold of the attorney over the phone, etc) then they can move onto the next attorney until they find one they feel comfortable with (the OP can also examine internet reviews, check with the Georgia Bar, etc, to see if they are hiring a good attorney).

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by george020106

Thanks for your input. What I am anxious is if I go to the court, will there be a risk for them to raise the fine or arrest me if I plead no guilty?

Heck no! The judge might even lower it, just because you bothered to show up!