[Edris335i]

Unfortunately I was running late to work last saturday and might've been speeding a little bit and I wasn't even aware of the CHP officer that was parked on the side of the highway. He wrote me a ticket for doing 90 in a 65 and for a lack of a front license plate. The ticket would cost me about $600, without any fee reductions or traffic school cost, and I was wondering if anyone has had a personal experience with one of those ticket attorneys. Do they actually get cases dismissed by going through trial by declaration and sending the attorney written letter to the court?

EDIT: I live in Southern California and ticket attorneys are very popular and common here

[Soterios]

Hey. Something I'm well versed in.

I got... a lot ... of tickets as a teenager. They work. All my tickets were reduced to non point, non moving violations, with a couple of exceptions.

That said, not all cities allow tickets to be 'fixed'. It's worth a call to a traffic lawyer to see where you're at with it for the specific city you got the ticket in.

[Edris335i]

Originally Posted by Soterios

Hey. Something I'm well versed in.

I got... a lot ... of tickets as a teenager. They work. All my tickets were reduced to non point, non moving violations, with a couple of exceptions.

That said, not all cities allow tickets to be 'fixed'. It's worth a call to a traffic lawyer to see where you're at with it for the specific city you got the ticket in.

Really? I'll definitely look more into it then. I've gotten a few quotes over the past few days from different businesses. There are a couple of businesses that charge a $99 refundable fee, and a few others that charge $200-$300 with half of it being refundable, if the case is not dismissed. Do you think it would be more valuable to go with the cheaper or pricier option?

[tdott]

100% depends on the state/county.

In FL, In general FHP tickets are harder to fight than say a Broward or Dade ticket.

[AnOldBiker]

You're in SoCal.

If you haven't had a ticket in the last 18 months, go to traffic court and behave for the next 18 months.

I use to live in the LA basin, its a 50/50 crap shot you might get it fixed, but the odds there are against you.

[Edris335i]

Originally Posted by tdott

100% depends on the state/county.

In FL, In general FHP tickets are harder to fight than say a Broward or Dade ticket.

I'm in Southern CA and the attorneys are pretty common here, I have one friend who went through an attorney and got his speeding ticket dismissed. Was trying to see if the attorneys are like a luck of the draw or if they actually back up their "80% of the cases we take are dismissed" or if it's just bs

[Edris335i]

Originally Posted by AnOldBiker

You're in SoCal.

If you haven't had a ticket in the last 18 months, go to traffic court and behave for the next 18 months.

I use to live in the LA basin, its a 50/50 crap shot you might get it fixed, but the odds there are against you.

Traffic school isn't my problem, it's that I really don't want to pay for it. I know the speeding was my fault and I'm trying to take the easy way out, but I'm very curious as to if I can just pay $100-$300 and get it dismissed instead of the $600ish

[AnOldBiker]

You in a state that is going to get the money for the ticket issued no matter what
They mass flow people in the traffic court like a slaughter house
The lawyers are not cheap to retain and per hour
Your odds at vary best is 50/50 and depends on the judge

Good luck ... there is a reason I left when I retired.

[Red Bread]

In my experience both in SoCal and DFW, you're about 50% likely to pay the attorney fee, go to court (almost always required, so if the time commitment isn't in the cards, skip) and have it dismissed outright.

The other 50% chance is that they'll just enroll you in a shorter deferred adjudication period than you'd have gotten on your own, 60 days vs 90, for example. You'll still have to pay court costs and a fee for DA, and then not get a ticket for the specified time.

The front plate is a fix it ticket. I suggest double sided tape, works a charm for me. Take a pic, email the court, pull it right off and use light polish or Goo Gone to remove the tape gunk.

[Edris335i]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

In my experience both in SoCal and DFW, you're about 50% likely to pay the attorney fee, go to court (almost always required, so if the time commitment isn't in the cards, skip) and have it dismissed outright.

The other 50% chance is that they'll just enroll you in a shorter deferred adjudication period than you'd have gotten on your own, 60 days vs 90, for example. You'll still have to pay court costs and a fee for DA, and then not get a ticket for the specified time.

The front plate is a fix it ticket. I suggest double sided tape, works a charm for me. Take a pic, email the court, pull it right off and use light polish or Goo Gone to remove the tape gunk.

I've never heard of the second option that you stated. Most of the attorney companies write a trial by declaration letter for you, which you are supposed to print, sign, and mail to the court along with a check for the bail amount of the ticket. If the case gets dismissed, the court mails you a full refund of the check in 6-8 weeks. If you are still found guilty after the TBD, the companies say that you can do a "New Trial" where you can ask for a fee reduction and/or traffic school and most judges grant it. I'm definitely taking your advice for the fix it plate ticket though, sounds genius. I wasn't aware that you could email the court a picture of it, I thought it had to be visually inspected and written off by a law enforcement officer.

[Red Bread]

Okay, I was in Laguna Beach when that worked. They're not as strict as other places, so you might run that by your jurisdiction.

[sspade]

Anyone have luck with getting a red light camera ticket reduced in California?

I rolled through a right on red and got a $500 ticket in the mail.

Pissed!

[Z K]

I'm in San Francisco area and have had luck with a local firm here. I had two tickets dismissed. A friend of mine had a 2 point ticket dismissed as well. Another friend was not so lucky and didnt get theirs dismissed. So far not a bad track record for this one place.

But if you haven't gotten a ticket in 18 months, just do traffic school and get the point dismissed. Only reason I used an attorney is because I got pulled over 3 times in a year... really bad luck.

[Edris335i]

Originally Posted by Z K

I'm in San Francisco area and have had luck with a local firm here. I had two tickets dismissed. A friend of mine had a 2 point ticket dismissed as well. Another friend was not so lucky and didnt get theirs dismissed. So far not a bad track record for this one place.

But if you haven't gotten a ticket in 18 months, just do traffic school and get the point dismissed. Only reason I used an attorney is because I got pulled over 3 times in a year... really bad luck.

Man that is actually really good results though. When you got yours dismissed, you got a refund for the amount you paid or you paid nothing right? Traffic school isn't my problem but I honestly just do not want to pay for this ticket. Also what was the process that you went through when yours were dismissed? Im assuming you did trial by declaration, correct?

[Edris335i]

Originally Posted by sspade

Anyone have luck with getting a red light camera ticket reduced in California?

I rolled through a right on red and got a $500 ticket in the mail.

Pissed!

Try a ticket attorney, the companies all say that they can get red light tickets dismissed and even other things like DUIs reduced to no points, etc...

[Z K]

Originally Posted by Edris335i

Man that is actually really good results though. When you got yours dismissed, you got a refund for the amount you paid or you paid nothing right? Traffic school isn't my problem but I honestly just do not want to pay for this ticket.

You pay the attorney. They will handle everything after you pay them. It's the same fee whether your ticket gets dismissed or not.

If the ticket gets dismissed, that's all you pay. If it doesn't, then you need to pay for the ticket then.

That's why I said it's only worth it if you're getting a point. You can end up paying double for nothing if they fail to get it dismissed. If you can take traffic school, you may as well go that route.

[IllSic_Design]

Originally Posted by Z K

You pay the attorney. They will handle everything after you pay them. It's the same fee whether your ticket gets dismissed or not.

If the ticket gets dismissed, that's all you pay. If it doesn't, then you need to pay for the ticket then.

Which company have you used?

[Edris335i]

Originally Posted by Z K

You pay the attorney. They will handle everything after you pay them. It's the same fee whether your ticket gets dismissed or not.

If the ticket gets dismissed, that's all you pay. If it doesn't, then you need to pay for the ticket then.

If you don't mind my asking, how much did you pay the attorney? I'm surprised how different it is for Southern and Northern California. I wish the process was like that here. You have to pay the ticket with the mailed letter and then get a refund which can take anywhere from 6-8 weeks :

[Z K]

It's the "California Traffic Defenders"

You can find them on yelp too. They only do SF area cases.

[Z K]

Originally Posted by Edris335i

If you don't mind my asking, how much did you pay the attorney? I'm surprised how different it is for Southern and Northern California. I wish the process was like that here. You have to pay the ticket with the mailed letter and then get a refund which can take anywhere from 6-8 weeks :

Mine was a $300 flat rate per ticket.

[Edris335i]

Originally Posted by Z K

Mine was a $300 flat rate per ticket.

Mine would be about $248, the company randomly emailed me a $50 off coupon so I think I'm gonna go through with them.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by Edris335i

...I'm very curious as to if I can just pay $100-$300 and get it dismissed instead of the $600ish

Not familiar with Southern California, but isn't the impact on your insurance rates with a moving violation much more than the cost of the ticket (with or without lawyer fees)?

Here in MA, points on your license stay for 6 years (technically they are called surchargeable incidents). So in my (daughter's) case, a surcharge of $500 to her insurance was equivalent to $3K. Due to the impact on insurance, it made it a no brainer to fight.