traffic lawyers - need advice..

[ronin_01r1]

I want to see who has gone to traffic court with a lawyer.

- how much did you pay in lawyer fees?
- what was the offense(s)?
- what was the outcome?

i want to know if it's worth the lawyer fees to get one or if i should try to fight this ticket alone. please help! i've never gotten a lawyer for this sort of thing and don't want to get ripped off in costs. one friend gave me a lawyer's name and number and said he was quoted $400 if it was going to be one court appearance. anything over is hourly charge.

this happened in township of bedminster, somerset county. anyone know a good lawyer in this area?

any other advice in getting a lawyer and the process is greatly appreciated! i went last time for "no blinker lane change" to no points and just a fine. i think this one should be dismissed...and thinking of getting a lawyer to up my chances.

this is what happened to me that prompted this; here's a quick summary. speed limit was 50mph. i was driving my car on a road that changed from 2 lanes to 1 lane and then imediately started to curved to the left once it became a single lane. i was going approx. 45-50mph. 2 cars merged behind me as the right lane ended. on the upcoming left curve is a LEO and another car he pulled over. there is no full shoulder lane for a full car, so the LEO car was partially in my lane. i'd estimate about 2-3 feet was in my lane. as i approached closer, i saw the LEO was walking back to his car (on the road), which took even more space of my single no passing lane. this prompted me to slow down to approximately 40mph and move to the left causing me to cross the double yellow lines to safely pass the LEO. there were no oncoming cars.

he later pulls me over to say that i almost ran him over! he gave me a ticket for careless driving and improper passing. i asked why the improper passing and he says because i crossed the double yellow lines. no speeding or any other violations.

WTF? what else could i have done or should i have done? stop on this road? no cars were stopped when i got there so everyone else must have passed him somehow.

LEO says improper passing for almost hitting him but to me verbally told me it's because i crossed the double yellow lines. on the ticket it says "improper passing; almost hit patrol". that is complete BS. I gave that LEO at least 3 feet between me and him as I passed. i honestly tried to give this guy as much space as i passed without going too far into the oncoming traffic lane. i could not believe what i was hearing when he tried to explain to me what i did wrong. if i stopped my car, my fear was having the car that just merged behind me following like 2-3 feet was going to hit me if i slammed on my breaks to stop the car on this curve.

i think the LEO was not happy that i had a yeingling box from the superbowl party i was returning from. i had like 5 beers in there with some left over food i was taking home. he asked me what's in the box and that's what i told him. that probably made him mad that he was out working on superbowl sunday night.

in any case, if you read this far, please tell me what you paid for lawyer fees.

THANKS.

[Smokes35]

Id fight that sucker until i was blue in the face reguardless of costs...


plus i hope his wife leaves him for being an asshole...

THEN id write him a ticket for disordlery conduct for being an arrogant bastard.


Lawyer up-- then piss on his shoes and lawyer up again.

THEN sue for mental anguish

[njf4i]

Well song i have only had Lawyer experience with a DWI case and i paid a flat fee of $1000. I was able to get out of most of the stuff with just fines.

But your gonna end up screwed in the end. Even if you get the points dropped your gonna end up spending $$$ out your ass for fines, court costs, and the lawyer.

If you need the number of my lawyer let me know.

[ronin_01r1]

Originally Posted by Smokes35

Id fight that sucker until i was blue in the face reguardless of costs...


plus i hope his wife leaves him for being an asshole...

THEN id write him a ticket for disordlery conduct for being an arrogant bastard.


Lawyer up-- then piss on his shoes and lawyer up again.

THEN sue for mental anguish

you should have seen his expression after this exchange took place...

LEO (handing me tickets) - these are two tickets, your court date...blah blah blah.... (he was giving his speach that they normally give...i was too shocked to remember what he was saying).

ME - what did i do wrong? i told you earlier i had no other choice

LEO - did you or did you not cross the double yellow lines?

ME - yes, but only to avoid hitting YOU.

LEO - if you want to contest, go to court.

ME - what would you have done differently?

LEO - ......go to court if you want to contest the summons. (he leaves to go back to his car before i can ask/say anything else).

The LEO also left immediately after getting inot his car. Most times, the LEOs will sit there doing god knows what, and the ticket recipient will end up pulling away first. He seemed pretty annoyed at all my questions and pleas to explain myself hoping for a warning. I honestly thought if I explained myself fully that he'd let me go with a warning. What a jack ass that guy was.

[ronin_01r1]

Originally Posted by njf4i

Well song i have only had Lawyer experience with a DWI case and i paid a flat fee of $1000. I was able to get out of most of the stuff with just fines.

But your gonna end up screwed in the end. Even if you get the points dropped your gonna end up spending $$$ out your ass for fines, court costs, and the lawyer.

If you need the number of my lawyer let me know.

see that's the thing, i think this case should really be dismissed. if im going to have to pay all those fines, i feel like i can go to court and plea my case alone, get points reduced and pay the fines they assess. but ppl keep telling me to get a lawyer just in case. and if the lawyer gets my case dismissed, then his fees will be money well spent. i really can't afford the insurance if it goes up 6 points for this.

[Smokes35]

if its cut and dry like that...


Go take a picture or 50 of the scene of the crime... explain where the officer was, where u were, make yourself sound and look like a semi-lucid, quasi-professional, not-so-dead-beat person... Then u might not need a lawyer...

Tell them your side of the story... the cop will obviously lie... u will whip out your diagrams... they will be impressed by the pretty colors and the thoughs/actions you took.


Please remember even if u lose the first court decision, u do have a right to an appeal.

[njf4i]

Originally Posted by Smokes35

if its cut and dry like that...


Go take a picture or 50 of the scene of the crime... explain where the officer was, where u were, make yourself sound and look like a semi-lucid, quasi-professional, not-so-dead-beat person... Then u might not need a lawyer...

Tell them your side of the story... the cop will obviously lie... u will whip out your diagrams... they will be impressed by the pretty colors and the thoughs/actions you took.


Please remember even if u lose the first court decision, u do have a right to an appeal.

Yeah but the bottom line when it comes to a cop and a suspect, they listen to both sides and always go with the cops side of the story.

Personally if your gonna fight for dismissall then get yourself a good attornery who is gonna make this cop look like an ass, then make sure you stay the hell out of that town for a couple of years.

Cops suck when they do stuff like this. FTP!!!