I was messing with my Waze app and wasn't paying complete attention to every car and I drove by a cop in traffic. He didn't catch me by radar/laser, but was tucked in between cars and was in an unmarked vehicle as I passed. I don't want to put all the information here on this post. Yesterday, I received 2 letters from lawyers in the area offering to represent me. This is a new experience for me with lawyers seeking me out for a traffic offense. Anyone had any experience with using a lawyer for basic traffic offenses (I'm in NJ).

In Vegas we give it to a lawyer. No points, no traffic school, no court appearance, and it only cost $50. Then we get a $300 parking ticket in the mail.

mike
in new jersey you don't even need a lawyer to represent you to be able to speak to the prosecutor and just tell them you would like to plead to a 0 point offense called
"unsafe operation" its a like get out of jail free card here in nj and is common downgrade in all municipalities

should round about $300-400 with fines and surcharge and can be used 2 times before it becomes a point offense

lawerence@undercover

Lawrence is absolutely right, arrive at your court date a little early and ask to speak with the prosecutor. Dress clean and presentable.

If you don't like the deal he/she offers tell the pros that you'd like to reschedule and come back with your lawyer.

Thank you.

Thank you for the information and I'm going to go for it.

The zero point option is one way to go, but there is a limit on how many of those you can go for. I have had tickets in NJ and received attorney letters and I always call the lawyers (as the first consultation is free) and I ask them in detail as to how they go about fighting for me.

In multiple cases, the lawyer knew the prosecutor by name as they grew up together or other relationship and they would have lay out their strategy. In my case, either the ticket was totally dropped or reduced to a no point, no moving violation ticket.

My suggestion is call them and talk to them as in my case I totally made out. In total, including their fees I am still ahead $ wise, but I cared about the points and what actually shows up on my record.

I am more concerned how lawyers know you had a speeding ticket then the ticket itself. If Lawyers know then your insurance company knows that you got a speeding ticket.

this is a bit off topic, but can anyone recommend me any lawyers in california??

It reads in one of the letters, they searched the court records. It seems they look daily at these records and then send out letters.

It has been decades, 30 years actually since I have had a ticket and things might have changed but I have never heard of anybody I know in AZ and CA getting a letter from an attorney after getting arrested or a ticket. Plus if the local traffic court attorney can access that info you can be assured that your insurance company does. You might get it plead down the a parking ticket but your insurance company knows what the original citation is for. Being a former traffic cop and have seen some of these traffic court attorneys in action can tell you they suck and it is a waste of your money. You can do a better job fighting it yourself with a little knowledge like, taking it to court and finding out when the car the cop drove had its speedometer certified, what days and shifts the cop works and then set up a court date for a day he has off or is on vacation. Kind of like if the cop works midnights, gets off at 8am you set up the court date for his Friday in the afternoon.


Plus if the DA is so corrupt that they will give you a break because their friend was an attorney it is just a matter of time before all of them are under federal indictment along with all the people who benefited from this corruption. I watched a local judge and officer who I knew go down for doing this in Santa Clara County.

my experience in NJ is similar to above... the lawyers are a total waste of $$$ (I was suckered into using one once.. and yes, they're good buddies with the pros), absolutely no need for them. Just keep in mind that a zero point ticket doesn't mean your insurance co won't raise your rates (they still will)... it just means that you don't get the points which could eventually lead to your license being taken away.

North or South Jersey? I'm friends with some district court judges from NJ through CT so if you need to know something specific..

How basic? I've gone to court once as a teen for $400+ going significantly over limit and negotiated myself 10 hours community service, no fees, no points. No lawyers.

For anything less, use the free lawyer in court. My husband gets tix every quarter and only garnered 1 point in a decade. I agree with comments above too. Go to Newark/Trenton/non burb locations for court dates, late in day. A judge would see 50 DUIs in a row then sees your minor infraction... pay the $20 or $50 court fee then go home. Good luck

You are assumed "innocent until proven guilty". The ticket alleges that you committed an offence and when it hits the court, it becomes a public record and at that point the lawyers pick it up. Insurance companies cannot act on that information as you are still not found guilty.

When the case is settled, the results are entered and that's the point that insurance companies step in regarding your record. The lawyers that helped me, actually looked at all this information and determined a way forward.

Do you need one, no, should you a good lawyer, in my opinion yes. I was done once I paid them as they represented in me court and I just had to pay my Amex bill.

I have lived all over our country, but not in NJ since I was in my 20s until 3 years ago and I have had tickets all over the country. I get one about every 3 years. I had never received a letter in the past, but I have found that this is normal now for lawyers to drum up business. I lived in CA for 7 years and everything is very different. Regarding the legal system, it is the way it works. It's all about relationships. My father was a retired policeman of 26 years.