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Do You Need an Attorney for a Speeding Ticket

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  • 01-16-2015, 03:04 PM
    z0mbies
    Do You Need an Attorney for a Speeding Ticket
    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: North Carolina (madison county) i got a speeding ticket for 85 in a 65 in madison county nc. I also now have a receipt from parts and labor or a mechanic who replaces my broken speedometer. Should i still hire an attorney? Or with the receipt will that be enough alone to get the ticket reduced, dropped, or changed? I dont want to waste any more money than i habe to but also dont want to not hire an attorney if i really need one.
  • 01-16-2015, 03:07 PM
    flyingron
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    You're not getting dismissed. You might be given the option to plead down to the equipment violation of having a broken speedometer. There's no obligation that they do that and your receipt isn't automatically getting you out of anything. If they refuse to play you can always ask for a PJC if you've not played that card yet.
  • 01-16-2015, 03:11 PM
    z0mbies
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    What is PJC?
  • 01-16-2015, 06:23 PM
    donzoh1
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    Prayer for Judgment Continued can't be granted at 15 or more over. The broken equipment approach might work, although you might need a statement or testimony from the mechanic that this would account for whatever you were over the limit?
  • 01-16-2015, 07:43 PM
    Bubba Jimmy
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    Was the speedometer mechanically incapable of registering speed above a certain level? Or was it simply inoperable? If it was inoperable, you actually had a duty to be extra cautious knowing that you had a problem. If it worked up to 65 and then pegged there, it might be something a judge would view as exculpatory to excuse the violation - or it might not. Any time you are appearing in court you will do better if you have an attorney.
  • 01-16-2015, 09:09 PM
    flyingron
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    It's not exculpatory in NC. However, it's a common and accepted plea bargain to substitute a "incorrect speedometer" equipment violation for a speeding ticket. You don't even need any proof that your speedometer is inaccurate. It's worth a try. The county still gets their money (you pay the fine and costs) but you dodge the point.
  • 01-17-2015, 04:33 AM
    free9man
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    Quote:

    Quoting donzoh1
    View Post
    Prayer for Judgment Continued can't be granted at 15 or more over.

    Curious where you found that. Everything I've found, including the NCGS, says 25.
  • 01-17-2015, 06:56 AM
    donzoh1
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    Quote:

    Quoting free9man
    View Post
    Curious where you found that. Everything I've found, including the NCGS, says 25.

    AVVO.com from a guy billing himself as a Greensboro attorney. Obviously, anything in a statute or even an official publication would be more authoritative. Interesting things pointed out there, such as no more than 2 PJCs per 5 year period and you have to plead guilty prior to learning that your PJC will be granted and insurance companies will recognize only 1 PJC every 3 years per policy. So, if someone else on your policy already has a recent one, it won't work. 15 over seems like a low number intuitively. Maybe whoever wrote the information below had old info?

    http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc...fic-violations
  • 01-17-2015, 07:22 AM
    flyingron
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    That information is apparently VERY OLD. The statute changed in 2007. It's 25 MPH as FREE9MAN said.
  • 01-17-2015, 07:48 PM
    bloodbath
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    Quote:

    Quoting z0mbies
    What is PJC?

    Prayer for judgment continued. It is, in short, where, after a finding of guilt is determined, the judge does not impose a sentence or "judgment", instead continuing proceedings for a period of time. This means that most of the consequences of a conviction do not attach: for example, for this charge of speeding, you would get hit with a class 3 misdemeanor fine (max. of $200), a 30-day license suspension, and an insurance surcharge of about 80%. You would, however, generally still be liable for court costs of about $190 if you receive a PJC.

    As was mentioned as well, you can only use one PJC per household in a three-year period to mask insurance surcharge points.

    While a PJC is possible for a speeding charge of 20 over, it, like most things, is subject to the judge's discretion and normally requires a guilty plea to be entered.

    Also, considering you're facing a class 3 misdemeanor, an attorney is probably not a bad option.
  • 01-18-2015, 07:01 AM
    flyingron
    Re: Do I Need an Attorney
    It's actually "per insurance policy in three years" to dodge insurance points.

    You can have two PJCs per individual every five years to dodge personal sanctions (like avoiding a misdemeanor).
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