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On the DFW range day we had last month I got a speeding ticket. I hired a lawyer to deal with it. Now today I get a letter in the mail from Irving saying the matter has not been resolved and I should take care of it right away to avoid a warrant being issued. Now how would a warrant affect my CHL and what to do about the lawyer?

A warrant for a Class C misdemeanor speeding ticket will not affect your CHL.

I would certainly call the attorney and find out what happened, though. If you paid them money to handle it, then you certainly deserve better than this!

I guess my questions would be:

1) Were you speeding?

2) If not, can you prove that you weren't?

3) If not provable, why not just pay it instead of taking the chance of putting anything at risk?

4) OTH, if you were speeding, why not just pay your fine and be done with it?

4) OTH, if you were speeding, why not just pay your fine and be done with it?

When I have been caught speeding, I quickly admit what I was in the wrong and pay the fine gladly. After all I was speeding.

hangfour wrote:

4) OTH, if you were speeding, why not just pay your fine and be done with it?

When I have been caught speeding, I quickly admit what I was in the wrong and pay the fine gladly. After all I was speeding.

Normally I just plead no contest and pay the fine. I have never used a lawyer and figured for $50 it was worth a try to see if he could come out with a different result, basically an experiment.

Lawyer = Dismissal... most of the time. Well worth the $50, especially in Harris County where the ticket is $160!!!

McKnife wrote:Lawyer = Dismissal... most of the time. Well worth the $50, especially in Harris County where the ticket is $160!!!

My fine is $251.

The Annoyed Man wrote:I guess my questions would be:

1) Were you speeding?

2) If not, can you prove that you weren't?

3) If not provable, why not just pay it instead of taking the chance of putting anything at risk?

Maybe because the law is not that he has to prove his innocence. They have to prove him guilty. If he is truly innocent, that should be pretty hard to do. I honestly know that the system is set up in such a way as to make it more along the lines of proving your innocence, but it is not supposed to be. We need to fight these types of things in the small actions to avoid fighting them as much larger battles later on.

srothstein wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:I guess my questions would be:

1) Were you speeding?

2) If not, can you prove that you weren't?

3) If not provable, why not just pay it instead of taking the chance of putting anything at risk?

Maybe because the law is not that he has to prove his innocence. They have to prove him guilty. If he is truly innocent, that should be pretty hard to do. I honestly know that the system is set up in such a way as to make it more along the lines of proving your innocence, but it is not supposed to be. We need to fight these types of things in the small actions to avoid fighting them as much larger battles later on.

No argument out of me. I'm just thinking of the practicality of the matter. You're right, proving innocence is not only nearly impossible, it isn't the constitutional standard. But when faced with the possibility of paying a fine for a ticket on the one hand, and putting my CHL at risk on the other hand, I'll just pay the fine. Besides, it is probably true that 99% of people who are ticketed for speeding were actually speeding.

I guess it goes to whether or not your personal moral compass tells you whether speeding is "wrong," or that speed limits are just another constitutional transgression to be disobeyed because you're a free and sovereign man and you don't need no stinkin fascist laws. If your moral compass tells you that speeding is wrong, then you pay the fine. If you think that speed limits are irrelevant and don't apply to you, then you hire a lawyer to see if you can beat the ticket - knowing that you are actually guilty on some level, whether or not you think the standard is a legitimate one.

Personally, I think it goes to the issue of personal responsibility. When the speed limit is posted, I know what it is. If I am exceeding the limit, then I also am aware of that. If I break the law, then I'll accept the consequences. If the consequences are expensive enough, then I likely will not break that law again. And even if I somehow think that I'm innocent, I would still rather pay a fine that I think is unjust than to go through life with a Class C misdemeanor conviction on my record that I will undoubtedly wind up having to explain to somebody down the road. But that's just me.

The Annoyed Man wrote: No argument out of me. I'm just thinking of the practicality of the matter. You're right, proving innocence is not only nearly impossible, it isn't the constitutional standard. But when faced with the possibility of paying a fine for a ticket on the one hand, and putting my CHL at risk on the other hand, I'll just pay the fine. Besides, it is probably true that 99% of people who are ticketed for speeding were actually speeding.

And even if I somehow think that I'm innocent, I would still rather pay a fine that I think is unjust than to go through life with a Class C misdemeanor conviction on my record that I will undoubtedly wind up having to explain to somebody down the road. But that's just me.

How does fighting a Class-C Misd. put your CHL at risk?

And, it only DOESN'T go on your record if you fight it and win. If you just pay the fine, you avoid the courts, but you're admitting guilt and it goes on your record.

My personal policy is that I never admit guilt and pay a traffic ticket.

Now, bear in mind, I do try to abide by the laws, but we all know - stuff happens, and occasionally, it has happened to me. And, if you drive as many miles a year as I do, it will eventually happen to you too. Because my job requires a clean driving record, I can't afford a ticket. I will either fight it with a lawyer or take defensive driving, but I won't let it go on my record.

If that makes me a bad person, then so be it.

Double check who thaqt letter came from. I suspect that it may have actually been from an attorney's office soliciting your business. I have received letters such as this myself.

The only way I would plead guilty to a traffic offense is in exchange for defensive driving dismissal (or a plea bargain. )

If you can't do the fine, then don't do the crime.

Just kidding, don't want to get a war going here.

suthdj wrote:On the DFW range day we had last month I got a speeding ticket. I hired a lawyer to deal with it. Now today I get a letter in the mail from Irving saying the matter has not been resolved and I should take care of it right away to avoid a warrant being issued. Now how would a warrant affect my CHL and what to do about the lawyer?

Did you call your lawyer today to ask about the ticket? What did they say?