Speeding Ticket in Wisconsin - Traffic Safety Course to avoid points? (Milwaukee: insurance, credit)
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I received a speeding ticket for the first time in Wisconsin. I asked the police officer when he was writing me up if I could go to Traffic School to avoid the points going on my license (4 point offense). He said to just go to my court date and "see what they can do for you".
I checked the DMV website and it says you can remove 3 points from your license by WI Traffic Safety School. How do I notify/sign up for Traffic School? Do I still need to appear for my court date and just explain it to them there?
Yes, you would still need to appear. Unless you want to write up a letter to the court and mail it in advance of the court date, but unless you receive a response, I'd still go to the court. Make sure you complete your traffic school before the court date and bring up your certificate of completion before hand. Chances are you'll be offered a settlement anyways (before being called in front of a judge), that's when you show your papers and negotiate reduction of ticket/points...
Chances are that you'd get an offer to exchange your speeding ticket for "malfunctioning speedometer" ticket (which would carry same or steeper fine, but not as many points if any).
Yes, you would still need to appear. Unless you want to write up a letter to the court and mail it in advance of the court date, but unless you receive a response, I'd still go to the court. Make sure you complete your traffic school before the court date and bring up your certificate of completion before hand. Chances are you'll be offered a settlement anyways (before being called in front of a judge), that's when you show your papers and negotiate reduction of ticket/points...
Chances are that you'd get an offer to exchange your speeding ticket for "malfunctioning speedometer" ticket (which would carry same or steeper fine, but not as many points if any).
I found the I Drive Safely WI DMV Approved course (online), the website says "Complete this course if you have received a traffic ticket in Wisconsin and have received permission from the court or judge to take a driving safety course." So, do I need to wait until my court appearance (next week)? Or do you think I should take the course now and have my certificate when I appear in court?
Call to the court (phone must be on the ticket), ask for their permission...
If they don't give it up front, ask them this question "whether to wait until the trial or take it up-front".
Worst case if you take this course, bring the paperwork and the judge decides to ignore it, you lost probably $30. Worst case if you don't take this course until the trial date, you might not be able to get it.
If you decide not to take it upfront, when you get an offer to get a plea deal, ask proactively about Safety Driving course.
I got the benefit of this course in NH, and my attorney (from Prepaid Legal Plan) arranged everything by mail (or phone) without me being present there. I only was told that my ticket will be dismissed conditionally if I take the course (and send the certificate of completion back to the court within 30 days and not get any tickets within next year).
Call to the court (phone must be on the ticket), ask for their permission...
If they don't give it up front, ask them this question "whether to wait until the trial or take it up-front".
Worst case if you take this course, bring the paperwork and the judge decides to ignore it, you lost probably $30. Worst case if you don't take this course until the trial date, you might not be able to get it.
If you decide not to take it upfront, when you get an offer to get a plea deal, ask proactively about Safety Driving course.
I got the benefit of this course in NH, and my attorney (from Prepaid Legal Plan) arranged everything by mail (or phone) without me being present there. I only was told that my ticket will be dismissed conditionally if I take the course (and send the certificate of completion back to the court within 30 days and not get any tickets within next year).
Sounds like a smart plan, but I just called the Wisco DMV today and they said that WI does not offer online traffic courses (not sure what the one was for that I found on their website then for $28 ), that I should just come to court and ask if I can take a class at a technical college to avoid points on license. Actually, I did get a traffic violation for running through a flashing red light in WI several years ago, appeared in court and the judge offered me a settlement to change the ticket to a parking in handicapped zone, which was a steeper fine but no points on license. I live in Illinois now, so a class at a technical school isn't really an option for me. The 4 points I would otherwise be receiving for this would stay on my record for 1 year.
Speeding tickets in WI are fairly easy to beat (especially with radar) and as long as you didn't say anything incriminating to the cop. Far cheaper to plead not guilty, then request all of their supporting evidence against you, calibrations, etc. At that point they typically toss the case out.
Anyone that I have ever known (which has been quite a few people over the years) in WI that went to court, the vast majority of them were able to get the violation changed and the points reduced basically just for showing up. I had one years ago and I was able to get mine reduced just for showing up as well. I didn't want to go and take the time off of work and sit and wait in court to take the chance of it not being reduced but I also didn't want the points. So I went and sure enough, just like everyone told me it would, it paid off.
Anyone that I have ever known (which has been quite a few people over the years) in WI that went to court, the vast majority of them were able to get the violation changed and the points reduced basically just for showing up. I had one years ago and I was able to get mine reduced just for showing up as well. I didn't want to go and take the time off of work and sit and wait in court to take the chance of it not being reduced but I also didn't want the points. So I went and sure enough, just like everyone told me it would, it paid off.
Exactly. And then I had one thrown out for driving 31 in a 25 zone. I plead not guilty and did not show up. Fortunately neither did the cop. The ticket was dismissed for "plaintiff failed to appear".
There is a ton of terrible and misleading advice in this thread, as there usually is in speeding/traffic law.
Traffic Safety School
In Wisconsin, completion of Traffic Safety School gives you the option to have 3 demerit points removed from DOT's running total of points on your driving record. This is an important distinction from how traffic school works in other states. In some other states, traffic school lets you keep a traffic conviction off your record, or removes the conviction entirely after a certain amount of time. That's not how it works here. In your example, the 4 point speeding ticket would remain visible on your driving record for 5 years, like other non-OWI traffic convictions. There would then be a separate entry showing that you took Traffic Safety School.
Generally speaking, you should not take Traffic Safety School for a point reduction unless absolutely necessary to save your license. This is because you an only receive a point reduction via Traffic Safety School once every three years. If you use it when you have a clean record, you won't have it available if you get into point trouble in the next three years.
You can take Traffic Safety School and not request a point reduction. The only possible benefit to that is if your insurance company provides some sort of discount or credit for taking a defensive driving class. I'm not aware of any prosecutor who will give a better offer just because someone went to traffic school before coming to court.
Traffic Safety School is only offered through the Wisconsin technical college system. There is no online course.
I am aware of some communities that will require you to complete their specific online driving course (for a fee) as a condition of a point reduction. Those are definitely not the norm.
So You've Gotten A Ticket
I do agree that you should always "go to court," however, this means different things in different places. What you (almost always*) want is to have a short meeting with the prosecutor or their office called a "pretrial conference." In some places, you get that meeting on the date on your ticket, which is called your "initial appearance date." In other places, if you show up to court on the date on your ticket and want a pretrial, you'll leave with an appointment to come back on a different day. There are 69 circuit courts and more than 200 municipal courts in Wisconsin, and they all have their own way of doing business. Don't hesitate to call the court clerk's office handling your ticket to find out how their specific procedure works.
A notable exception is tickets returnable to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, most of which are issued by the Milwaukee County Sheriff on the freeway system. Here, you just want to show up to court on the date on your ticket. You will be presented with a "menu" of sorts--find your violation, and you can pick either Option 1 for less points and the same fine or Option 2 for even fewer points and an increased fine. Wait for your name to be called, tell the commissioner your menu choice, and you're on your way.
If you have a good driving record and were decent with the cop, most prosecutors will offer some sort of reduction to a speeding ticket. The exact type of amendment will vary greatly depending on your speed and the jurisdiction. What I mean by that is, a ticket for 18 mph over might get you a 0 point parking ticket amendment from one county's DA's office, but only a reduction to a 3 point speeding ticket for 10 mph over from the DA's office in the next county over. A ticket prosecuted by a city/village/town attorney inside one of those counties you may get a 2 point Defective Speedometer or Obstructing Traffic. Every community and county is different.
Although amendments vary from county to county, within a particular prosecutor's office amendments are typically quite standard. In other words, you typically don't need to plan an elaborate sob story or "build a case" about why your ticket should be reduced. Again, unremarkable driving record + decent with the cop = you should get that office's standard amendment.
Can I get my speeding ticket entirely dismissed or thrown out?
In theory, sure. It is exceptionally rare. Long-standing case law gives radar readings a presumption of accuracy. Prosecutors do not throw out cases just because someone requests records. I would say officers show up to court north of 98% of the time. As you might expect, officers get in a pretty significant amount of trouble with their employer when they don't appear in court as ordered.
Who is the prosecutor for my ticket?
Generally speaking, citations issued by a county sheriff's office, the State Patrol, UW system campus police or the DNR are prosecuted by the county district attorney's office in the county where the ticket was issued. In a couple counties, the Corporation Counsel (the civil attorney for the county) does traffic prosecution instead of the DA's office.
Non-criminal traffic citations (like speeding) issued by a city, village, or town police department are prosecuted by the city/village/town prosecuting attorney. In larger communities like Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, Racine, etc., this is an Assistant City Attorney who is a full-time City employee. In most suburban and rural communities, the municipal prosecutor works for a private law firm and and serves as the prosecutor by contract.
[quote=mizzou65201;49443519]There is a ton of terrible and misleading advice in this thread, as there usually is in speeding/traffic law. Can I get my speeding ticket entirely dismissed or thrown out?
In theory, sure. It is exceptionally rare. Long-standing case law gives radar readings a presumption of accuracy. Prosecutors do not throw out cases just because someone requests records. I would say officers show up to court north of 98% of the time. As you might expect, officers get in a pretty significant amount of trouble with their employer when they don't appear in court as ordered. quote]
Good info here but I had a ticket dismissed for merely requesting all information on the radar unit (make, model, serial #, band type), FAA license #, and calibration records. I have a right to see their evidence against me.
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), that I should just come to court and ask if I can take a class at a technical college to avoid points on license. Actually, I did get a traffic violation for running through a flashing red light in WI several years ago, appeared in court and the judge offered me a settlement to change the ticket to a parking in handicapped zone, which was a steeper fine but no points on license. I live in Illinois now, so a class at a technical school isn't really an option for me. The 4 points I would otherwise be receiving for this would stay on my record for 1 year.
