By Attorney James Czarnecki|Czarnecki & Taylor PLLC|NOV 4, 2022
This article will discuss why you should hire a Michigan traffic ticket lawyer to handle your ticket. We’ll cover the major reasons it makes financial sense to hire a lawyer to fight a traffic ticket rather than simply paying the fine. We’ll also discuss what steps need to be taken when you have been issued a ticket.
Everyone gets a traffic ticket from time to time. It may be for speeding, not stopping at a stop sign, or just failing to yield. These tickets are usually $150 or more. Although not as serious as other types of legal issues, tickets are still punishable by law and should be handled with care.
Hiring an experienced Michigan traffic ticket lawyer is not costly at all when compared to the long-term consequences of having points on your license or paying large fines for multiple offenses. By taking the time to hire a defense attorney after receiving a ticket, you will have done yourself a huge favor and potentially save yourself a lot of money.
Why it is a good decision to hire a Michigan traffic ticket lawyer.
You will save money in the long run.
If you are issued a ticket, do not pay it without first talking with a lawyer. It is never cheaper to just pay the fine. An experienced Michigan traffic ticket lawyer can save you hundreds of dollars by handling your traffic ticket in court for you. In most cases, you will not have to appear in court. The end result of hiring a traffic lawyer will be considerable savings of money and time. Read more here.
The best thing you can do when you get a ticket is to hire a lawyer who specializes in fighting traffic tickets. These defense lawyers are well-versed in state law standards, local court policies and have dealt with the police and prosecutors many times before. They know what to expect and how to get a good outcome. Experienced attorneys have seen these cases many times before, so they know what will work best for their clients under certain circumstances. Having an experienced defense lawyer fighting on your behalf is worth every penny.
The best way to fight a ticket is to hire an attorney.
Most traffic tickets include points against your license. When you hire a lawyer to fight a traffic ticket, they can review your case and offer you some insight on how to handle it. If you fail to hire one, the consequences could impact your insurance rates for years.
Since the cost of traffic tickets average between $150.00 to $200.00 for most civil infractions, you may think you save money by paying it when compared to hiring a lawyer. While at first, this seems like a good argument, when we look at the process a little more, it isn’t true.
Most courts make it very easy to simply pay the ticket. Some courts allow you to call in a payment or pay online. But, this quick and easy payment will cost you hundreds of dollars more in the future. While you save money in the short term by not hiring a lawyer, you will spend a lot more over time.
Here’s what happens when you simply pay the ticket:
- Your insurance rates will increase for several years. Over time, the increased premiums will far exceed the cost of a Michigan traffic ticket lawyer.
- Your employment may be affected especially if you drive for a living or use company cars
- Points will be added to your Michigan driving record for a period of 2 years
- If the ticket is put on your driving record, city attorneys and prosecutors will be able to see the infractions and will hold it against you in the future if you ever receive another ticket
While the courts make money off of your ticket, the insurance companies stand to gain the most when you pay the ticket without a lawyer. As I am sure you are aware, insurance companies always review your driving record to make a risk assessment. Your ticket, according to insurance companies, made you a higher-risk driver. So, they will use this opportunity to increase your insurance rates for the next three or more years.
Insurance companies look at things like credit scores (which have nothing to do with your ability to drive), age, type of car, the city you live in, whether you have a garage, to determine your insurance rates. A traffic ticket will increase your rates. Over the course of a year, you will have paid more for your insurance than you will have paid for a lawyer. Now multiply this cost for a few more years and you can see how hiring a lawyer will save you money and points.
Your insurance provider wants you to pay for the ticket and have the points put on your record. It is in their economic interest. Insurance providers determine your premium payments based on many factors, with the most important factor being your driving record. It is sometimes true that the insurance company forgive your first ticket, but it doesn’t always happen. Moreover, if you have multiple tickets on your record, you will not get the break in increased costs. Also, high point tickets like reckless driving or careless driving will prevent you from getting this break.
What a Michigan traffic ticket lawyer can do for you.
It’s best to hire a lawyer who specializes in traffic law because they know exactly how a ticket will affect a person’s driver’s license and insurance rates. If a person doesn’t hire an attorney for their Michigan traffic ticket, they may be at risk for losing their driving privileges, getting points added to their license, or having to pay higher insurance premiums each month. As explained earlier, taking care of the ticket without assistance will turn out to be more costly.
A lawyer will be able to handle all types of serious violations including suspended licenses, reckless driving, and DUI offenses. When you hire a lawyer to help you, tickets won’t have long-term ramifications, such as increased insurance rates.
Once you hire a Michigan traffic ticket lawyer, he or she will take care of everything for you. Most times, you will not have to appear in court. The attorney will take care of the court appearance for you. A lawyer will handle all of the paperwork and court procedures to give you a better chance of getting the ticket reduced or dismissed.
You’ll need to hire an attorney if you plan on challenging the officer who issued you the citation in court. If you hire a lawyer, they will handle all aspects of your case so you don’t have to worry about gathering evidence or using this information at trial.
Not only is it important to hire a lawyer to fight your Michigan traffic ticket because it could save you money, but you should hire an attorney if you have received several tickets over the years. Keep in mind that the courts and prosecutors will be less likely to deal with you if you have many tickets on your driving record. If this applies to you, make sure you hire an attorney because they will understand how to get the best result possible despite your bad driving record.
You should also hire a Michigan traffic ticket lawyer even if you feel like you deserve the ticket because your goal is to save money on fines, court fees, and insurance rates. You don’t deserve to pay more to an insurance company because you made a mistake.
Hopefully, at this point, you can see that just paying for the ticket is not in your best interest. You should always hire a lawyer. Hiring an attorney means that someone with experience will be handling your case, which makes getting out of the ticket much easier than trying to do it on your own.
Possible outcomes for your traffic ticket.
The best outcome for your ticket is a dismissal. A ticket can get dismissed if the officer or trooper fails to appear for the formal hearing. Also, the prosecutor may agree, based on your lawyer’s arguments, to dismiss the ticket. However, prosecutors rarely dismiss a ticket outright. A ticket can get dismissed by the court after a hearing. Again, this is extremely rare. Courts almost always choose the police officer’s version of events.
Since it is rare for the prosecutor to dismiss your case and a hearing is unlikely to be successful, a deal is the best option. There are many benefits when your ticket is negotiated by your attorney. First, you don’t have to face the risk of losing at a hearing and have the ticket and points put on your driving record. A negotiated deal can still keep the ticket off of your driving record so that the insurance company cannot see the ticket and raise your rates. At a minimum, your points will be reduced.
Usually, an attorney can get a traffic ticket reduced to a zero-point non-abstractable offense. Non-abstractable means that the court does not send the ticket information to the Michigan Secretary of State. Hiring a Michigan traffic ticket lawyer can improve your chances of getting the offense dismissed or reduced. A well-negotiated deal is the best outcome because your lawyer will know what to expect. The outcome is certain, unlike in a hearing. Remember, though, that if you don’t like the deal negotiated by your lawyer, you can reject it and go to a hearing. Most often, though, the deal is in your best interest.
In Conclusion
The next time you get a traffic ticket, hire an attorney to fight it for you. If you hire one, they can take care of everything without any negative impacts on your driving record or insurance policy. If you don’t hire one, the citation could cost you dearly in fines and fees not to mention increased insurance rates. So hire an attorney today if this is the case.
Contact Czarnecki & Taylor
If you have been issued a ticket in Michigan, contact our office. At Czarnecki & Taylor, we have consistently been successful in saving our client’s time and money by getting tickets reduced or dismissed.
To learn more about how to handle your traffic ticket call (586) 718-2345 today to schedule a free consultation with an attorney or use our online form for a prompt response. We are available 24/7 and have weekend and evening appointments.