Got nabbed last night going a bit fast (30MPH over - 40MPH zone). The summons says 'Mandatory Court Appearance Required'. Has anyone had to go thru this lately? Any thoughts on what I should expect or how to prepare?

TIA

 

Get a lawyer!!!
Don't even attempt to show up by yourself.

 

 

bring alot of money and ask to make a donation to somewere instead of the ticket..

 

Get a lawyer and be ready to pay a $300 court surcharge before fines, fees and not to mention paying your attorney. I used one from the internet, flat $300 fee and he got me off with no points. Plea'd guilty to a lesser charge with no points. I got popped for 42 in a 25....would have been a 4 pt ticket. Lucky I got my ticket before they started the court surcharge fee.

 

30 over sucks. Manadatory because you are so high over the speed limit. 30+ is a 5 point ticket which is equal to reckless driving (even passing a school bus is only 4 points).

Do yourself a favor and get a good traffic lawyer. You will get the ticket down to probably 2 and just pay the rest in fines. Otherwise you will get hit with a huge insurance surcharge...

A friend of mine just started a law office in New Brunswick area and is looking for work. He use to be the assistant prosecutor for Middlesex (and worked for LemonLaw.com). PM me if you want his name and maybe he can tell you what he can do for you.

 

Get an attorney.

 

Good advice right here! Good luck!

 

what to be prepared for?

visualize walking into the courtroom bending over and getting a firm grasp of your ankles.

 

Well, what can a lawyer do? 30 over is big. You broke the law and now you want to pay more for a lawyer with no gaurantee of winning the case? Unless something was going on that would lead you to believe that you got it in error.
I would talk to a lawyer and get his opinion(though he will probably take the case since he gets paid win or lose).

If in fact you are charged with reckless(it should say on the ticket), a lawyer may be a good idea to try and get the fine and points reduced, but if it's just a speeding ticket, I would show up, plead guilty and pay the fine and don't speed anymore for a long while, especially on a local road that would have a 40mph speed limit. If it was the Parkway or Turnpike and you were doing 30 over, well that doesn't make it any better, but at least there is no chance of pedestrians or bicyclists on the road.

 

Frank I agree with you that if the ticket does not say reckless then it is not reckless, but 30+ mph is a big offense.

A 5 point ticket is only out done in NJ by the 8 point ticket for leaving the scene of an accident that has some sort of personal injury (that is 8).

I have heard some judges that give out 5 point speeding tickets also have suspended the license for a period of time (of course that might be 100 in a 50 or something more in that line). Besides the chance of getting suspended he is now only 1 point away from getting NJ surcharge of $100.00 per year (6 points). Add that on top of the insurance surcharge and you are paying a ton out of pocket either way.

I have not seen a lawyer that has a client which is in good standings with the state not get the points reduced especially if it is the first major offense. If the person has a long record of speeding and/or other offenses well then do as Undertaker has suggested....

 

Better to pay a one time fee now then forever increased rates from everywhere.
Dont ask how i know first hand.

 

Listen to Ike, if anyone is an authority on Jersey tickets, it's him!

BTW, I've had good luck with hiring a lawyer for a ticket in NY. If you can at least get it reduced or plea for a higher fine without points, it'll be worth it long-term.

 

I was looking at 7 points when I got caught going 100 MPH on NJTP. Supercharger John recommend his friend and he got the careless ticket dismissed and the 5 point speeding ticket down to a two point ticket. I had to pay the fine for a two point ticket and the attorney fees. If you negotiate the no-point conversion you have to pay the original fine and the conversion fee, that that is almost as much as a lawyer.
I then took a AAA driver safety class and got the other 2 points taken off, so now I am back to zero. Also, I a get a discount on my insurance for three years.

If you have gotten points in the last three years you could be looking at NJ surcharges as well.

 

Just get a Lawyer and don't screw with this!

 

BTW, where did you get cought and where do you have to go to court?

 

First, never ever plead guilty.

Get a lawyer, unless you are used to the process and feel confortable with representing yourself and are competent to do so.

Hold the state to its burden of proof & exercise your right to due process.

Chances are the state would rather settle the matter than waste resources trying it and you may be able to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

A lawyer that is familiar with NJ traffic court will be able to do this efficiently and may even be able to negotiate a better deal since he may have some sort of relationship with the prosecutors (if there is one).

If you plead not guiltly, but are eventually convicted, you will be in the same position you are now (obviously less attorney fees if you elect not to represent yourself). However, you now have a chance of copping a plea or even winning at trial.

If you walk in a plead guilty, you will be convicted of the full offense and be raped by your insurer over the next few years.

Your call.

Regards,

Rich

 

I was on Rt. 1 Northbound in Woodbridge. Have to appear in Woodbridge.

Thanks for the advice all --- seems like a laywer is def the way to go!

~JG

 

You might want to retain William Brigiani,esq. His law practice is in East Brunswick. He teaches the Leos traffic enforcement. Good luck!

 

Like Rich said, I too used a lawyer for my recent run-in with the law. It was well worth the $500 as both tickets were dismissed as a result of the officer failing to supply a written deposition.

Not saying that you can get off on a technacility, but somebody who knows the system is more able to navigate for you. Again another point from Rich: "your liability is capped." AKA you can't be found MORE guilty, meaning you will not be fined more then the fines nor issued more then the specified points if you are found guilty.

One thing about traffic court is that it seems to be very proceedure heavy. For example if you plead not guilty in NYS you most respond within 48 hours of the ticket issuance -- otherwise you waive your right to plead NG. But these proceedures can work to your advantage if you make the gov't go through the same hoops you have to. Since a prosecutor is handling many cases I would guess he/she is more likely to make a mistake then you are

Oh one more thing I learned: the lawyer isn't interested in the facts of the actual issuance. My lawyer represented me without ever hearing "my side" of the story. Instead he first attempted to negotiate a plea, and when that was rejected he fought both tickets on a technicality. In the end for a few hours of work on his part, he netted $500 from me So don't be surprised if your lawyer isn't interested in even hearing about your situation, and will just attack some of proceedural elements.