Arlington Traffic Ticket Lawyer
214-321-4105
If you have been issued a citation in Arlington, Texas it is important that you make smart decision when choosing how to protect your record. Traffic ticket convictions are the main reason for driver license suspensions, increased insurance rates and surcharge penalties across the State of Texas. This article is intended to help you understand the consequences of not resolving your Arlington traffic tickets properly and how to avoid the penalties that arise from a bad driving record.
When Traffic Tickets Become A Financial Nightmare
Traffic tickets usually become a financial burden once a person pays off the ticket without doing what it takes to protect their record. This is normally attributed to a person thinking that hiring a lawyer for traffic tickets in Arlington is “too expensive” or that they “don’t have the time” to contest a ticket.
Neither of these statements are true. First, an attorney can defend traffic tickets in Arlington for less than $100.00 if the case is not in warrant status as compared to a traffic ticket conviction costing that same person as much as $1,800.00 over a 3 year period in increased insurance rates. Also, it takes about 5 minutes to sign up as a new client for traffic ticket defense matters in Arlington and a lawyer can then attend most pre-trial matters on your behalf.
The financial nightmare begins by trying to cut too many corners with your driving record. If you simply go to Arlington Municipal Court and pay off the traffic ticket. That may be the cheapest in the moment. But depending on the type of ticket, it can also cause your license to be suspended. Because each ticket you don’t contest gets reported to The Department Of Public Safety (“DPS”) as a conviction. Once DPS finds out about the conviction, that is where the real trouble starts. The name of the game is to avoid having anything reported to DPS because that is where the real money savings is.
How Lawyers Defend Traffic Tickets In Arlington
Lawyers are not magicians. They don’t have any silver bullets that automatically get your traffic tickets in Arlington dismissed. However, traffic ticket attorneys in Arlington do have methods to verify if a traffic ticket is legally sufficient to proceed to trial. If it is not, then the case most definitely can be a candidate for dismissal. If it is legally sufficient, then the lawyer can work towards negotiating a deal that best protects your permanent driving record, insurance rates and driving privileges. Some of the things that an experienced ticket lawyer in Arlington looks for are:
- How old is the traffic ticket?
- Is the Arlington police officer still on the force?
- Is there a valid complaint in the file?
- Does the complaint comply with the requirements of the Code Of Criminal Procedure?
- Are there any other legal errors in the issuance of the Arlington traffic ticket?
Each of these areas can be explored in more detail on their own. The main point is that a lawyer must explore these issues to see if there is a valid reason for dismissal of an Arlington traffic ticket.
If a case is not eligible for dismissal based on a legal reason, then in most cases the Arlington traffic ticket attorney will negotiate the best deal to protect the client’s record while also trying to save them as much money as possible in any fees that may be necessary to do so. Again, the fees paid to Arlington Municipal Court are secondary to protecting the client’s record. Because a reported conviction can cost exponentially more than any fee that would have to be paid to Arlington Municipal Court to protect a client’s record. If money can be saved, then great. But if not and the traffic ticket defense lawyer has to choose between saving a few bucks at Arlington Municipal Court or protecting the client’s record, they will always choose to protect their permanent record.
Are Trials Necessary To Protect A Driving Record In Arlington Municipal Court?
Not every case can be resolved during the pretrial phase. Some cases will need to be set for trial to have an opportunity to protect the client’s driving record. Examples of cases that may need to be set for trial are:
- Excessive speeding cases
- Speeding In a Construction Zone With Workers Present Cases
- Commercial Driver Tickets
The cost of going to trial and the benefits of doing so must be weighed individually for each case. That is why it is important to make sure to consult a traffic ticket defense lawyer about both the cost and benefit of setting your case for trial if you are not offered a deal during the pretrial phase of your case to protect your driving record.
Contacting A Traffic Ticket Defense Lawyer In Arlington
Many times what we find is that our clients have never hired a lawyer for anything before. They don’t know what questions to ask or where to start. The best place to start is by calling an Arlington traffic ticket lawyer to discuss all your concerns and questions. Lawyers are in the service industry. We serve to protect our clients. You should not be intimidated to ask questions about your traffic tickets, driving record, insurance rates, etc. That is what we are here for. Take the time to call our Arlington ticket attorneys today at 214-321-4105