Admission of Guilt

Paying your ticket means automatically admitting you are guilty of committing the crime. Once you admit you are guilty, a variety of consequences can occur. The most common is having points added to your license. If there are repeated traffic offenses, the points can add up pretty quickly which could lead to having your license revoked.

Insurance agencies also look for points being added to your license. If you do pay the ticket and the points are added, this is reasonable cause for the insurance agency to increase your increase your insurance amount. Essentially, by paying the ticket, you could increase your monthly expenses altogether when the insurance gets raised.

Strategies to Get Your Ticket Dismissed

Officer Doesn’t Show

If the officer is not present on the court date then the case is most likely to be completely dismissed. Officers choose to not show up for a slew of reasons, the officer could be on vacation, the courthouse could be a great distance away, whatever the reason, it happens!

Speedy Trial

The State requires the case to be brought to court within 180 days. Good lawyers will try and get the trial delayed past the 180 days so that the the case can then be dismissed. Certain lawyers even have automated systems that can determine the Speedy Trial date and leverage the delay in their favor.

Invalid Pace and Radar Calibration

Radars must be calibrated every month. If the officer does not arrive to court with the appropriate logs proving calibration, the case can have grounds for dismissal. Similar to radar calibration, pace calibration must also be checked at the trial date. If the pace clock does not prove routine calibration, it could mean that the radar has collected incorrect data, thus making the case invalid.

Traffic School

Traffic school is also another example of ways to avoid having points added on your license. If the case cannot be completely dropped, traffic school still serves as a viable alternative. Remember, it’s all about the money. If you can avoid paying the ticket as well as avoid an increase in your insurance, then a few simple hours may be worth it.

Be aware that if you do complete your six or eight hour traffic course, you are still not quite done. Most courts will still require you to send in proof of completion before your license is clear. Neglecting to send in proof of course completion could lead to points being added on your license or even having your license revoked. Also note that traffic school may not always be an option as some states will limit the number of times traffic school can be completed. At times, states also do not allow defendants to defer to traffic school when the ticket exceeds 30 mph over the speed limit.