Speeding tickets in Plano have become big business for the City. Plano Municipal Court has set up a system that allows for the quick processing of cases that don’t always have the citizens of the City of Plano’s best interest in mind. This article is intended to outline some of the pitfalls of defending speeding tickets in Plano Municipal Court. If you would like to speak with a speeding ticket attorney in Plano after reading this article, feel free to contact us at 214-321-4105.
Plano Municipal Court is now a court of record. This means that you cannot simply appeal your traffic tickets out of Plano Municipal Court in the hope of obtaining a better deal at the appellate level. You will now have to play by Plano Municipal Court’s rules. These rules are stacked against you. Plano is one of the most rigid Municipal Courts in the Metroplex area. For this reason, you would be wise to discuss your traffic ticket issues with an experienced lawyer that can help explain the policies and procedures of the Court.
Plano Speeding Ticket Lawyer
What Are the Consequences If I Am Issued a Speeding Ticket in Plano?
A speeding ticket in Plano can cause higher insurance rates, suspended license issues as well as surcharge penalties owed to The Department of Public Safety. If not handled properly, a simple speeding ticket can become very complex very quickly. Every traffic ticket you receive must be contested in today’s computer age. The reason is due to the fact that reporting a moving violation is so easy. A court click only has to click a button and you now have a conviction.
Understanding Deferred Adjudication In Plano Municipal Court
Normally, when a speeding ticket in Plano cannot be dismissed to due legal reasons, a speeding ticket lawyer will begin the negotiation phase with the prosecutor to try and protect their client’s driving record. By protecting a client’s driving record it also preserves lower insurance rates and helps the client avoid possible suspension of their driving privileges.
The negotiations will normally revolve around some type of deferred adjudication offer. Deferred adjudication is a tool that is used to protect a person’s record from a permanent speeding ticket conviction in Plano. The conditions of deferred adjudication are discretionary. That means that the judge can decide what conditions they want the defendant to meet before accepting the agreement reached by both the prosecutor and the speeding ticket defense lawyer in Plano. Mainly, the conditions you will see are that the defendant not receive any new speeding tickets in Plano during the deferral period. That period can range from 90 to 180 days in most cases.
By contesting your traffic ticket, you ensure that you have the opportunity to review the evidence against you and discuss your case with a prosecutor to insure the violation is kept off your record at the lowest fee possible. The beauty of traffic ticket lawyers is that they can be retained to do all of this for you. By hiring an experienced traffic ticket attorney, you give yourself the opportunity to fight your ticket and not have the responsibility of appearing in court yourself.
Deferred Doesn’t Start Immediately In Plano Municipal Court
The problem with deferred adjudication in Plano Municipal Court is that the actual deferred period does not start or even accepted until payment is made. Further, if a payment is made late, then the case reverts to a straight conviction without deferred. We consider this to be a breach of the actual agreement. But in order to fight this, there must be a writ of mandamus or some other appellate action filed against the court. In the meantime, we are bound by the interpretation of the Plano Municipal Court judges. And these judges interpret the agreement only to take place upon timely payment of any deferral fee.
So what happens if the fee is not paid on time? In plain terms, you will be convicted of the offense of speeding in Plano, Texas and it will appear on your permanent driving record. You will have no opportunity to dispute the conviction because a show cause hearing is only allowed for cases where deferred adjudication has been granted. Because the judges don’t actually enter the deferred order until payment there is no hearing available to a defendant.
Because this court is so complex and the cards are stacked against a person charged with speeding in Plano, Texas we suggest you contact a speeding ticket lawyer in Plano before you take any action on your ticket. If you would like to discuss your speeding ticket with our Plano speeding ticket attorneys, call us at 214-321-4105.
