Central Florida Traffic Ticket Defense
PROTECT YOUR PRIVILEGE TO DRIVE
Most drivers are uncertain of their rights in connection with
receiving a traffic ticket or infraction
and are unaware of the consequences of just paying a ticket.
It is often the
case that many drivers
immediately pay traffic tickets, thereby receiving points on their driver's
license that carry long-term consequences, including increased insurance rates,
loss of commercial driving privileges (or livelihood) and suspension of driver's
license. Simply paying the ticket may also place you in the precarious
position of having your license suspended for 5 years as a
habitual traffic
offender.
Our focus is on
preventing your license from being suspended. We represent people who are
local and out-of-state who have
received tickets with the intent of protecting their privilege to drive.
Keeping the points off (adjudication withheld) is the best defense for this and for having the Florida
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles remain out of your life.
CDL drivers
(those with commercial driver's licenses) we also represent and understand their
special needs (Click HERE for more information). Unfortunately, the Florida legislature took away the
driving school option for CDL licensed drivers. Call us.
We also
represent people involved in car accidents. If you were involved in a car
accident and cited by law enforcement as being at fault, please continue with
this page. If not cited and injured in a car accident, please click
HERE.
Our office can advise you which steps
we will
take in your case, and the fees are surprisingly reasonable for representation
in traffic court.
We represent
drivers in Orange, Osceola, Lake, Seminole, and Brevard Counties in Central Florida (for other
counties go to our links page).
DRIVER'S OPTIONS (If
you have questions, please contact us)
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OPTION #1: Pay Ticket -
Receive Points. If a driver receives a traffic ticket and chooses to
accept responsibility and
just pay the ticket the court will adjudicate the citation and the Department of
Motor Vehicles and Highway Safety will assess points on the driver's record.
Points accumulate over time. Too many points within a specific time frame
may subject the driver's license to suspension or revocation. A traffic
ticket point
matrix can be found here. |
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OPTION #2: Driving School
Option (Does not require an attorney).
This may be the best option for
you and save you the cost of an attorney. A driver in Florida who successfully completes this option will have
adjudication withheld by the court and no points will be assessed on the
driver's record. In addition, Safe Driver status is maintained,
the civil fine will be reduced by 18%, and your insurance
rates cannot go up or be cancelled (unless you are at fault in a crash).
You must make this election within 30 days of receiving your ticket. This election cannot be taken within 12 months of a previous driving
school election and only 5 elections are allowed to be taken in a driver's
lifetime. To elect this option you need to call the
Clerk of Court
in the county where you received your ticket or go online to the Clerk's
website. This is
the best
option if you have the option available to you and your driving record has
several recent infractions on it. Remember that
if you elect to have a hearing the court will have access to your "entire"
lifetime driving record.
If you possess a CDL drivers
license OR were stopped for
speeding and your speed exceeded 30 mph over the posted speed limit you
will not be eligible to elect the school option. Go to Option 3
below.
Make sure any
driving school you attend is approved by the Florida Department of Highway
Safety and Motor Vehicles. To read more about driving schools click
here. You can also find a list of
driving schools located on Our Links page.
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OPTION #3: Hire Traffic Ticket Defense Lawyer. An attorney can appear for a driver at
a hearing, challenge the law enforcement officer to prove the infraction beyond
a reasonable doubt, and protect a driver's license by requesting that no points
be assessed (adjudication withheld) by the court. In addition, an attorney
may be able to get the court to allow you to take a driving school option when you are
ineligible by statute either due to a recent driving school election or because
the maximum school allowance has been surpassed.
NOTE: This option is not a guarantee that no points will be assessed or that you will not be required to
attend a driving school. A court can, after a hearing, require a driver to
pay a fine up to $500 ($1,000 in some accident cases), attend a driving school, assess
points, and suspend your license (or any combination thereof).
TO
HIRE OUR LAW OFFICE
Follow these steps...
If
you would like to have us handle your traffic ticket hearing there are a
few things that need to be done.
#1: First,
within 30 days you must let the court know that you are challenging the
ticket. We can do this for you if you hire us with sufficient
time (before 30 days have passed since receiving your ticket).
#2: Next, we
need to receive the below information. Fill out the information
requested below. Press the "submit" button once. Once
submitted a new page will appear - print this out. Read, sign and
send to our office.
#3: Once you
have submitted the below information and printed out the agreement you
can send us a check or money order as specified in the agreement by
United States postal service. If you want to pay by credit card
please call and have one of the staff take your credit card information (Visa/MC/AMEX/Discover).
We scan and return receipt of payment to the email listed. We will not enter your case before
payment is received.
#4: We also
need the following information: please fax or mail a copy of both sides
of ticket to FAX (407) 841-9090 in
addition to supplying the below requested information.
This is necessary for all possible defenses.
NOTICE OF NEW LAW: Citations for speeding in
excess of 30 mph over the posted speed limit require a mandatory court
appearance. If you hire us, we suggest for these infractions that
you take the 8-hour aggressive driving course and get us the certificate
prior to your hearing.
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For fastest
service please submit the information below and call us. We will answer
any questions you have. We want to protect your driving privilege.
Submitting this information
and submitting payment
will create an agreement between you and our office for representation.
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Driving
While License Suspended/Revoked
and Habitual Traffic Offenders
If you received a ticket for
driving with a suspended license please call us immediately. These
are serious infractions that can have devastating consequences.
Racing on Highways
Now a First Degree Misdemeanor, Street Racing requires a minimum of
1 year license suspension if convicted.
Driving School
Option
Area
driving schools, suspension point calculator, points per infraction.
Involved In an
Automobile Accident?
If you are injured or
think you may be injured due to an automobile accident click above to
find help.
NEW FOR
2006! Speeding 30 MPH Over Limit
318.19. Infractions requiring a mandatory hearing
Any person cited for the infractions listed in this section shall not
have the provisions of s. 318.14(2), (4), and (9) available to him or
her but must appear before the designated official at the time and
location of the scheduled hearing:
(1) . . . ;
or.
(5) Any infraction [for] exceeding the speed limit by 30 m.p.h. or more.
Driving
30 plus mph over the speed limit cases are taken very seriously by all
courts in the Central Florida area. Take at least an 8-hour school
and get us the certificate prior to your hearing date.
* * * *
Did You Know?:
30 Day Rule:
A driver has 30 days from the date of the ticket to either pay it or ask
for a hearing. On day 31 the clerk of court will D6 (suspend) your license
and you will be notified of a pending suspension mailed to the address
on your license. Need more time? Ask. Call the clerk of
court for an extension.
Did you
already pay your ticket?
It may not
be too late to help you even if you already paid your ticket. For
more information click HERE.
* * * *
Loud or
Modified Exhaust Tickets
§316.293:
This has been on the books a while. The law basically says that
We The People cannot modify our vehicles exhaust system. This
statute seems impossible to prove from the law enforcement perspective.
It is an attempt to quash our imagination and should be fought.
Call if you receive one of these draconian citations.
* * * *
A person's driving
privilege is one of the most under-appreciated aspects of daily life in
Florida. Without a driver's license a person is without any
reasonable means of transportation unless they can afford to pay for
taxis. Florida laws have increasingly used the driver's license
suspension as a form of penalty. Money spent protecting your
privilege to drive is well worth the investment.
* * * *
Fifteen
moving violations in 5 years
can result in your license being revoked for 5 years. You'll also be
labeled as a Habitual Traffic Offender. However, tickets that have
been withheld (no points assessed) do not count towards the 15.
* * * *
Withholding the Points
on a ticket can be accomplished by "electing" a driving school or by
"requesting" it from the Court. A "withhold of adjudication" means
you will not be assessed points for a moving violation.
* * * *
When you
are pulled over
by a law enforcement officer ALWAYS be courteous, refer to the officer as SIR
or MA'AM, and never admit to committing any infraction. The officer
will issue the ticket with or without your admission. AND don't refuse to sign the ticket. The signature does
not admit guilt and refusal to sign it is a criminal offense!
* * * *
Download your driving record
HERE.
Or call us. We can obtain a DMV printout of
your DL Record (omitting your personal information) for a small fee
($25). All we need is your DL#.
*******
Our Civil
Traffic Citations Statistics as of
December 13, 2006:
Dismissed =
40%
Trend: Down
No Points =
54%
They still had to pay their fines and court costs.
Trend: Up
Convictions = 6%
Trend: Stable
Additional Stats:
Amended =
1%
Trend:
Slightly Down
Driving School =
27%
This includes
drivers that did or did not receive points and were ordered to take a
driving school by the court.
Trend: Up
Statistics are just that,
statistics. They represent past results and not odds of future
results. They are posted here for informational purposes only.
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The
Law Office of
