Traffic Attorney???

[XC700116]

Need a little advice.

A little over a week ago I got into a fender bender and was issued a summons for "Drove Carelessly" AKA Careless driving.

I did some looking and since I have a mandatory court appearance and it's actually classified as a misdemeanor offense, I'm considering contacting an attorney. According to the statute there is a possibility of jail time involved although "normally only in cases causing bodily harm" which there was no injuries involved. Previous to this I have zero points on my license, and no previous tickets in CO. I think it's a bit much to tag me with a 4 point violation that's actually a criminal charge for a fender bender that admittedly was my fault, but really? a criminal charge?

So I'm kinda wondering.......

What would you do?
Any idea on the cost/benefit of a traffic attorney?
Should I just go in and plead guilty and pay the fine and hope to hell the prosecutor and judge don't want to prove a point and give me jail time? (Up to 90 days possible).

I can deal with the fine and the points but a criminal charge on my record and the possibility of jail time doesn't sit well for a fender bender.

Any advice is appreciated.

[Irving]

If you were going to go to jail, you would have gone at the time of the accident. That is standard operating procedure for minor accidents. It won't go on your record like for background checks or anything (that I know of). You've already spent more time thinking about fighting this than it is worth. The best attorney in the world won't get out of the Careless Driving ticket.

[XC700116]

That's kind of what I was thinking, but I've never been down this road before and I really don't know what I'm really looking at. I get the whole revenue generation side of things, and i've been in a fender bender in the past but didn't get a ticket that was considered a misdemeanor, it was in MN and was a "moving violation" equivalent to speeding. So I'm a caught a little off guard with this whole thing.

[Irving]

I think every way you can break the law is considered a misdemeanor, if it wasn't you wouldn't be guilty of anything.

[JM Ver. 2.0]

You'll be fine. I've had one. Got it at 16. Hit a fence in the snow. No jail time. You're really over reacting to it all.

[Bailey Guns]

You'll be paying an attorney hundreds, maybe a few thousand, of dollars to get out of a fine that may cost you a couple of hundred.

Besides...you don't need an attorney for this initial court appearance. Talk to the city attorney prosecuting the case. You'll most likely get just as good a deal from him/her as you would by hiring your own atty. They pretty much want the case to go away just as much as you do and will be satisfied with a little "w" in their column as much as a big "W".

If you can't get a reasonable deal you can always ask for a trial and hire an atty later. Don't rush into spending money on legal representation for such a minor issue.

[RCCrawler]

Chances are you will go into court, talk to the DA and they will drop it down to a defective vehicle ticket.

[XC700116]

OK, Thanks for the info/advice. I've just never dealt with a ticket that required a court appearance before, in fact never stepped foot in a court house for anything beyond a copy of my birth certificate and once for Jury Duty even then I left an hour later not having been selected for the Jury.

[SouthPaw]

Go into to court and speak to the DA/TA. They will give you your options and take whatever one has 0 points if they offer it. If they do not offer you that ask them if they can do "0 points obstructed vision." You will stay pay a fine and court fees but this way you will not lose points and your insurance will not go up.

[UncleDave]

Go into to court and speak to the DA/TA. They will give you your options and take whatever one has 0 points if they offer it. If they do not offer you that ask them if they can do "0 points obstructed vision." You will stay pay a fine and court fees but this way you will not lose points and your insurance will not go up.

You are correct sir! Colorado just wants your money, they will not negotiate on that, but points they really don't care. The direct opposite of some other states.

[TFOGGER]

Chances are you will go into court, talk to the DA and they will drop it down to a defective vehicle ticket.

This would be the automatic plea bargain. You might be able to get it even lower with some negotiation. Clean record and having a valid license, plate, and insurance will go a long way towards this. One caveat: being a good citizen appears to make you a target for a fat fine, at least in my experience. I got a well deserved speeding ticket in Denver, mandatory court appearance. I was one of 2 people that was actually legal in all(other) respects when I was cited, and I received the largest fine of anyone in the courtroom that evening. They were more than happy to drop the points from 6 to 2, but the fine/court costs amounted to almost $400. The other person that had a valid license, plates, and insurance plead a Careless down to 2 point defective vehicle, and paid ~$200 in fines and costs. Everyone else basically got a walk on suspended licenses, expired plates, or no insurance. [Bang]

[SouthPaw]

You are correct sir! Colorado just wants your money, they will not negotiate on that, but points they really don't care. The direct opposite of some other states.

Believe me, this is not my first rodeo. I have more tickets than I have fingers and toes [ROFL1].

[SouthPaw]

This would be the automatic plea bargain. You might be able to get it even lower with some negotiation. Clean record and having a valid license, plate, and insurance will go a long way towards this. One caveat: being a good citizen appears to make you a target for a fat fine, at least in my experience. I got a well deserved speeding ticket in Denver, mandatory court appearance. I was one of 2 people that was actually legal in all(other) respects when I was cited, and I received the largest fine of anyone in the courtroom that evening. They were more than happy to drop the points from 6 to 2, but the fine/court costs amounted to almost $400. The other person that had a valid license, plates, and insurance plead a Careless down to 2 point defective vehicle, and paid ~$200 in fines and costs. Everyone else basically got a walk on suspended licenses, expired plates, or no insurance. [Bang]

Isn't that the truth? I got a well deserved 6 point speed exhibition ticket that was pleaded down to 3pt driving to fast for conditions. I was stuck with a $500 fine PLUS traffic school. Others were in there for no insurace, wreckless driving, big speeding tickets at not one looked nearly as nice as I did but did not pay a dime over $300 at most! Next time I go I am just going to wear a wife beater, cut off jean shorts, and flip flops and see what they stick me with.

[XC700116]

WOW, you guys are giving me a lot of confidence that I can get through this with just a fine and maybe a couple points. Thanks, I appreciate the advice. I knew CO courts were all about the $$ but I had no idea they'd bargain on the points side of things just to get a fat fine out of you. I can make more money, but it's pretty hard to clear the record or lower insurance rates that will be much more expensive in the long haul.

[Jer]

Call Jerry Roselle (http://www.jerryroselle.com/).

/thread