Ticket - Should I dig myself deeper? (LAC)

[Andrew Buc]

** Reply to message from Benjamin Kaupp <bkaupp at ugconnection.com> on Thu, 17
Oct 2002 11:05:04 -0700

OK, my info is based on Washington state, so YMMV. I got a speeding ticket in
early September in Bellevue, Washington. Some members of the NW Audi listserver
recommended attorneys, and I found myself hiring one to fight a traffic ticket
for the first time in my life. Going rate for attorney's fee around here, at
least for something straightforward like this, is $300. If you're looking at
possible jail, as you say, that strikes me as reason to fight it.

In Washington there's something called deferment--if you haven't had any
tickets in a while, you can in effect plead guilty and pay a fine, and if you
keep your nose clean for a year, the latest ticket stays off your record. My
lawyer says that even if you contest the ticket and lose, that still doesn't
rule out the deferment, but he regards the deferment as a last-ditch effort. If
it were me, I'd at least get a consultation with a lawyer--it's got to be more
comprehensive than something an officer tells you in the space of a minute
beside the road.

My court date is Nov. 12--my lawyer will go in my stead, I don't even have to
be there. Here's hoping for good outcomes for both of us!