TRAFFIC TICKET FAQ
INFORMATION PAGES
Traffic Law Information
In Missouri and Illinois, speeding tickets and other moving violations result in
points being assessed against your license. For example, convictions for speeding tickets carry a penalty of 2-3 points, and disobeying
traffic signals
gets you 1-2 points. The Missouri online statutes provide a full, up-to-date list of how many points will be assessed for a particular traffic violation.
Your license will be suspended for one year if you receive 8 or more points in a 12-month period, and revoked if you receive 12 points in a 12-month period. For most people, however, a point revocation is not their main worry - the typical client is most concerned about how much the points associated with a conviction will cause their insurance premiums to rise. Although there is no formula to determine how much a point or two will increase your insurance rates - and I am sure it varies depending on the insurance provider you use - I have had clients tell me that past traffic law convictions have cost them hundreds of dollars in increased insurance expenses.
Clearly then, it is in your best interest to get your tickets fixed, and to do that you need an attorney. I have handled thousands of traffic tickets in courts across Missouri and Illinois. If you have received a ticket for a moving violation, do not risk losing your license and seeing your insurance premiums increase. With experienced attorney representation your moving violation can likely be negotiated down to a non-moving violation. Further, you won't need to worry about making an inconvenient court appearance.
To discuss your traffic law issue, please contact me anytime. Once you are ready to proceed, everything, including payment, can be done over the phone. For more information on Missouri and Illinois traffic law, please see below for the frequently asked questions section that I have prepared.
You will want to call a traffic attorney and discuss the charge and what can be done about it. In many cases, a moving violation in Missouri can be amended to
a non-moving violation. When you call your attorney, it is a good idea to have the ticket in front of you. The attorney will need to know the charge, the court ticket
the ticket issued out of, and your court date. With this information, a price quote will likely be possible. In more complex situations, however, a face-to-face
consultation may be advised. For simple traffic tickets, however, I handle everything right over the phone. I gather the information I need to handle the ticket, and we can even complete payment of the phone.
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The price involved in representing you on your ticket will vary greatly depending on the charge, of course. For simple speeding tickets, my attorney fee is generally around
$50. For more complex charges, like Driving While Suspended or Revoked, attorney fees will be much higher. Price can also vary depending on what court your ticket is
issued out of, as some courts require an attorney court appearance, while others do not. Please call for a price quote on your specific ticket.
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You will be required to pay fines and costs to the court. These fines and costs vary greatly from court to court and from defendant to defendant. Some courts have higher fine schedules and higher court costs. Defendants with troubled driving records may also be required to pay higher fines if they want the charge amended. Please call for
an estimate on what the fines and costs will be for your specific ticket.
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Yes. Many, but not all, courts will give defendants in traffic court a one-time pass for their failure to appear. Courts will issue a new court date and notify defendants of that new court date, provided the court has the defendant's correct mailing address. Some courts, however, will issue warrants for your failure to appear, even for the first court date. At that point, it is advised you hire an attorney in these situations - often your attorney can prevent you from ever having to appear in court.
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Yes, I handle warrant recalls in all courts. Please note, however, that some warrants will not be lifted without the payment of a cash bond by the defendant. Please call
for an analysis on your specific situation.
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The FCC is the Fine Collection Center. Highway patrol officers issue tickets out of the FCC. These are state charges, compared to municipal ordinance violations, and often carry more severe penalties. Once issued an FCC ticket, you have 30 days to pay the ticket (leading to a conviction for the charge), enter a plea of not guilty, or hire an attorney. Entering a plea of not guilty or hiring an attorney to handle the charge will result in the ticket being transferred to the Circuit Court for disposition. Once transferred to the Circuit Court, your attorney will appear for you and negotiate the charge with the prosecuting attorney for the state. The goal of those negotiations, of course, is to have the ticket amended to a no-point, non-moving violation.
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Simply paying your ticket will lead to a conviction. Convictions for moving violations lead to points being assessed against your license. Points on your license can result in
numerous negative ramifications, including license suspensions and greatly increased insurance premiums.
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Yes, and in fact, the Judge may even compel you to hire an attorney to handle such a charge as you may face jail time. Many prosecutors are unwilling to amend a speeding ticket when it reaches high rates of speed over the limit. Generally, 26+ in some courts and 30+ in other courts seems to be the limit where prosecutors do not amend. In these situations it is still possible to keep the points off of your license. It may require entering an open plea and leaving sentencing up to the Judge. The possible outcome for these charges varies greatly from court to court - Please call me if you have received a ticket where you were caught going 30+ mph over.
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Probably not. In a great majority of tickets I handle, the client never needs to appear in court. For simple speeding tickets, for example, this is almost always the case. For more serious tickets like driving while suspended, driving without insurance, and accident tickets, a court appearance by the defendant is sometimes required, but not
always. In my opinion, part of the attorney's job is to minimize the impact your ticket has on your life - this includes your time. If I can keep you out of court, I will.
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Probably yes, but the defendant with a terrible driving record will likely be required to pay higher fines in order to achieve the amendment to a non-moving violation. Eventually, however, some prosecutors will simply be unwilling to amend a charge if they feel the defendant has already had too many moving violations in their past. Please call for an analysis of your specific situation.
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Probably not, but maybe. Some courts require some defendants to attend driving school. Younger defendants or defendants with bad driving records are more likely to be required to complete driving school as a condition of the no-point amendment. Please call me to discuss whether driving school will likely be required for your specific ticket.
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Illinois handles tickets differently than Missouri. Illinois courts generally do not amend tickets to non-moving violation. Instead, they offer court supervision. Court supervision is essentially a probationary period (generally 30-90 days for a speeding ticket). Provided you receive no further traffic citations in that probationary period, you will avoid the points associated with the charge in which you are on supervision for. Per statute, a person who is over 21 years old may receive supervision twice in a one year period; drivers under 21 may receive supervision only one time per year. If you have received an Illinois citation, please call to discuss whether you will be eligible for court supervision.
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The information provided here is for educational purposes only and should not be relied on as if legal advice pertaining to your individual situation. I will be happy to speak with you regarding any questions you may have regarding your traffic law issues.
Please click here for my contact information.
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Your license will be suspended for one year if you receive 8 or more points in a 12-month period, and revoked if you receive 12 points in a 12-month period. For most people, however, a point revocation is not their main worry - the typical client is most concerned about how much the points associated with a conviction will cause their insurance premiums to rise. Although there is no formula to determine how much a point or two will increase your insurance rates - and I am sure it varies depending on the insurance provider you use - I have had clients tell me that past traffic law convictions have cost them hundreds of dollars in increased insurance expenses.
Clearly then, it is in your best interest to get your tickets fixed, and to do that you need an attorney. I have handled thousands of traffic tickets in courts across Missouri and Illinois. If you have received a ticket for a moving violation, do not risk losing your license and seeing your insurance premiums increase. With experienced attorney representation your moving violation can likely be negotiated down to a non-moving violation. Further, you won't need to worry about making an inconvenient court appearance.
To discuss your traffic law issue, please contact me anytime. Once you are ready to proceed, everything, including payment, can be done over the phone. For more information on Missouri and Illinois traffic law, please see below for the frequently asked questions section that I have prepared.
TRAFFIC LAW QUESTIONS
- I was issued a traffic ticket - what should my first step be?
- How much will attorney fees be for representation on my traffic ticket?
- What other costs are associated with resolving my traffic ticket?
- I missed my first court date, can I still use your services?
- I missed my court date and I now have a warrant, can I still use your services?
- The highway patrol just issued me an "FCC" traffic ticket - what is the FCC?
- Should I just pay my ticket and be done with it?
- I was caught speeding at a very high rate of speeding (30+ mph over) - can an attorney help me?
- Will I be required to appear in court to resolve my traffic ticket?
- I have a bad driving record, will an attorney be able to get my ticket amended?
- Will I be required to attend driving school?
- How do Illinois courts handle traffic tickets?
- My question is not answered here - how can I contact a traffic law attorney?
