Oh no! You got pulled over, or were cited for a traffic infraction after an accident. Or maybe you were sent one in the mail. However it happened, you now face a traffic infraction that could affect your driving record and insurance rates. After the initial feeling of being angry subsides, it is important to be proactive in making sure that your traffic infraction is handled by an attorney who knows how to keep these matters off of your insurance record.
Dealing With a Traffic Ticket
When you receive an infraction, you have 15 days to respond to the court asking for a hearing. It is at this initial point that Russell & Hill can start making your life easier. Instead of having to go through the trouble of getting an envelope and a stamp together, and sending it off, you can simply call us with your name and infraction number. With that information, we can send in a request to the court on your behalf letting them know that we are representing you and that we are requesting a contested hearing to fight your infraction. If you would rather send it in yourself and contact us later, please remember to check the box that says “Contested Hearing” before mailing it to the court.
Keep in mind that no matter which court your infraction is located in, Russell & Hill can either help you directly or refer you to someone who can. Do not assume that just because the court is far away from our office, that we can’t help you with your infraction. We help people in courts all over the State and we know how each individual court operates and the methods that can be utilized for the best resolution of your ticket depending on the jurisdiction.
The Discovery Process
After a hearing has been requested and set, the next thing we do is request discovery from the prosecutor’s office. We have our own method of doing this, and we do it in a way where the prosecutor has the minimum amount of time to reply to our request. The discovery (essentially the police reports and any other relevant documentation in your case) hold the key to what we’ll be able to do for you. Our goal at the end of the day is to keep the infraction off of your driving record so that insurance companies cannot see it and raise your rates. However, this can be done in a few different ways.
First, if the reports hold insufficient evidence to show that there has been a violation, we can move for a dismissal of your ticket. Sometimes officers are lazy or just cannot write a good report. We use this to your advantage as that is the only evidence that exists that you committed this infraction. Second, if the officer wrote a solid report, and we don’t think that arguing the case will lead to a dismissal, we then try to negotiate an amendment with the prosecutor. For instance, let’s say you were cited with speeding. We could potentially try to get that charge amended (changed) to a cell phone or tabs violation; something that is a non-moving violation and does not get considered by insurance companies. At the end of the day, this again means that your insurance rates don’t go up. The third thing that we do, depending on the situation and the court is to enter a Deferred Finding or some other type of agreement wherein if you don’t have any new infractions for a time, and pay a fee, your ticket gets dismissed at the end of the time period. This
Second, if the officer wrote a solid report, and we don’t think that arguing the case will lead to a dismissal, we then try to negotiate an amendment with the prosecutor. For instance, let’s say you were cited with speeding. We could potentially try to get that charge amended (changed) to a cell phone or tabs violation; something that is a non-moving violation and does not get considered by insurance companies. At the end of the day, this again means that your insurance rates don’t go up. The third thing that we do, depending on the situation and the court is to enter a Deferred Finding or some other type of agreement wherein if you don’t have any new infractions for a time, and pay a fee, your ticket gets dismissed at the end of the time period. This
The third thing that we do, depending on the situation and the court is to enter a Deferred Finding or some other type of agreement wherein if you don’t have any new infractions for a time, and pay a fee, your ticket gets dismissed at the end of the time period. This again, can lead to the end result you’re looking for. It is the last resort for us, and we only use it when we think it’s the best option in your case.
Taking the Stress Out Of Traffic Infractions
Another HUGE benefit of having Russell & Hill help you with your traffic ticket is that you do not have to go to court! This means that you don’t have to worry about the stress of driving there, parking, being nervous in front of the judge, not knowing what to say or do, etc. Forget about all of that! On traffic ticket cases, we can appear on your behalf and handle the infraction without you having to worry about it. Once you turn the ticket over to us, you can basically forget about it. Although you are always free to write or call us with questions along the way, we will do our thing and let you move on with your life as if this never happened. After the hearing is over and the case is resolved, we will send you a letter detailing what the outcome was and if any payment is owed to the court, we will tell you how to make that payment.
Our baseline price for help on an infraction is $250, but this can change depending on a person’s record, charge, and what court their infraction is in. We can talk about specific pricing when you call us.
Give us a call today and NEVER let your insurance rates go up as a result of a traffic ticket.