I am going to call the DAs office to ask for a continuance over the phone so I do not have to drive six hours to court just to ask for one. I have no idea how to even approach this, does the DA have assistants or secretaries who can asnwer my question? Can I just give them my court date and name and they will have enough information? Do they get questions like these alot? I do not want to sound retarded over the phone which is why I am asking these retard questions now. When asking for a continuance do they need a reason? If so, is financial situation a good enough one?


Thanks

8/31/2006 2:21:12 PM

Pretty sure you gotta go in there or get a lawyer to go in for you.

8/31/2006 2:26:01 PM

If you dont want to drive 6 hours then you should get a lawyer to show up for you. I dont think you'll get much done over the phone like that even if you wait till the day of your court. Depending on your ticket you can either pay it off early or show up in court. you have to do one or the other.

8/31/2006 2:26:23 PM

there is nothing wrong with call the courthouse and acting dumb to get the answer you need...i do it all the time.

8/31/2006 2:28:58 PM

Are you a State student? Call Student Legal Services. They can at least give you some free advice, and they might even send representation in your stead.

8/31/2006 2:35:58 PM

Well there is no way I'm going to have enough money to pay the fines on the day I have to appear so someone suggested getting a continuance. It's a mandatory court appearance. I'm not a state student. I can't afford a lawyer. I guess I'll just try calling them and speak to whomever.

[Edited on August 31, 2006 at 2:44 PM. Reason : tyrtu]

8/31/2006 2:43:49 PM

You should be able to call the clerk of courts to get a continuance.

8/31/2006 2:44:49 PM

Clerk of courts is not the DA? I'm ignorant when it comes to this legal stuff.

8/31/2006 2:48:14 PM

No its not, Call the clerk of courts, there should be one referenced on your ticket or case. YOU WILL HOLD for an hour at least in most places, explain your situation and ask for a continuance.

8/31/2006 2:49:57 PM

Thanks so much!

8/31/2006 2:51:04 PM

clerk of COURT

not plural.

drives me crazy almost as much as people who put an e in judgment

8/31/2006 2:51:52 PM

You don't have to pay the fines the day of. You have thirty days in most places to pay the court, but after that they set a warrant out on you. In some situations you can even get 60 days. Speak with the clerk and let them know your situation and they can clarify based on your concerns. (Tell them the details of your case but not your name if possible, so that if you do anything mentioned below there is no record.)

Again, though, your best bet is to call the DA's office or the Clerk. The clerk is usually more friendly, and they are willing to help where they can since they aren't prosecuting. It's not the most ethical thing to do, but technically you can miss your court date and then call the next day and say you forgot or something and they can reschedule you for the next available day, as long as you only do it once.

I'm assuming it's traffic court. If not, disregard most of this. However, when they call the dockett at the beginning, anyone who isn't there gets put into a pile separately. It's not uncommon to have a large number of people not show up, and they are pretty cool about rescheduling, otherwise they would have a lot more paperwork and warrants to issue. It's not the most advisable plan, but it works if you have no other options.

I've only been convicted of about two traffic offenses since I've been driving, and I have never gotten a lawyer. I have never been convicted of anything that affected my insurance. I have had multiple tickets reduced to improper equipment and dismissed, and have had some more serious offenses dismissed without fine or court costs. As long as you know how the system works, you can get around it. They are very forgiving. Just try to learn as much as you can.

8/31/2006 2:53:53 PM

Well I got three tickets. One of them is very....bad. It is traffic. I don't even know if I'll get money just to pay the 100 dollar court fee. I moved the day after I got the tickets and am going to interviews today for jobs so I'm pretty broke. Two of the tickets I have immediately fixed. I got one for expired inspection but that was because the cop was just sticking everything he could to me. Problem is TN doesn't require state inspections, should I go to one in NC and get it inspected or jsut pay the fee? I didn't know you got so much time to pay it off after court or whatever. I've only been to court once for a speeding ticket and they just made me pay court fees. Any advice would be great because I don't want these repurcussions even though the offense was sort of serious.

8/31/2006 3:13:11 PM

Kiwi,

Seriously just get an attorney to handle them. I really dont think they will charge as much as you think. If you can slip them a small payment now they will continue it a couple of times until you can pay them off. If an attorney charges you $250 for the traffic ticket $125 of that is court costs you would have had to pay anyway. Factor in your time and wasted gas for driving all the way back here and you can see why its not a bad deal.

Just call and explain your situation.

[Edited on August 31, 2006 at 3:52 PM. Reason : ]

8/31/2006 3:51:40 PM

Could I call a lawyer and get a free consultation over the phone?

8/31/2006 4:32:58 PM

could you call a lawyer and ask?

8/31/2006 4:33:48 PM

^^YES!

The guys whose number I sent you is actually very nice.

8/31/2006 4:35:14 PM

Ok. so many options here. aha

8/31/2006 4:37:58 PM

Is it cheaper to driver there or pay the ticket costs????

Hello logic

8/31/2006 4:53:59 PM

you need a lawyer, especially if its serious. The more tickets you have, the less likely to get something reasonable worked out. While you may not hae a lot of money now, it will save you in the long run.

honestly, for traffic violations, there is no need to actually discuss it with a lawyer. Depending on what it is, you have different options to pursue. Lawyers are hesitant to give out legal advice and have someone go out an act on it.

I have seen numerous people go into court to represent themselves and walk out thinking they got a good deal. They use their 10 over reduction without realizing you only get 1 reduction for 3 years. Nonmoving violations are particularly hard to get removed/reduced.


[Edited on August 31, 2006 at 8:05 PM. Reason : k]

8/31/2006 7:51:49 PM

Quote :

"without realizing you only get 1 reduction for 3 years."

You have no idea what you are talking about. You get a reduction every time you get a speeding ticket. I have had like 3 in one year. You get one PJC every 3 years or something like that.

8/31/2006 8:31:28 PM

Quote :

"Lawyers are hesitant to give out legal advice and have someone go out an act on it. "

ive had a lot of tickets, none of them told me how to go out and handle it on my own but they would explain their plan of action and what they thought they could get it down to

now that i have a lawyer i have used a few times she has helped me out free of charge for little things when i needed it

8/31/2006 8:50:21 PM

nothing worse than free advice.

as to how serious your offense really is, you need to be more specific before you get all worried. you may think something's bad, but in reality it isn't, and vice versa. for example, running a stop sign is one of the worst things you can do in many cases because of the likelihood of getting off and the points, whereas i got 67 in a 45 reduced to 9 over when i was 16. (my favorite was when a cop stopped me for what he said was near 100 and then let me go with a warning...)

8/31/2006 10:57:21 PM

Quote :

"Problem is TN doesn't require state inspections, should I go to one in NC and get it inspected or jsut pay the fee?"

Was the car registered in TN? If so, you ought to be able to get that dropped.

8/31/2006 11:09:39 PM

I should have been clearer... your insurance only lets you have one 10 under reduction for 3 years and not increase your rates. Honestly, I would be more concerned with the affect of the ticket on your insurance rather than what you pay in court costs.

Also, if the DA had run your driving record (which is randomnly done in the county I worked for)

Here is something from a CLE for attorneys in NC:

Quote :

"Exemptions to SDIP—no SDIP points will be charged for: 1. Accidents—property damage only, damage < $1,500, there is no conviction for related moving violation, and household has clean record during experience period. 2. Speeding 10 mph or less over posted limit—not in school zone and driver has no other moving violations in experience period (notwithstanding an isolated Prayer for Judgment Continued (PJC)). "

9/1/2006 9:39:32 AM

either you, or a legal representative, has to be present in the courttroom to ask the judge for a continuance. he may ask you for a reason, but it really doesn't matter what your excuse is as long as you don't say something stupid like, "i wanna go to vegas".

[Edited on September 1, 2006 at 9:42 AM. Reason : ]

9/1/2006 9:41:39 AM

well, i guess my insurance company is different Jenn
because i have had 14 speeding tickets since turning 17 years old
i have been charged with 2 and they were the only 2 that EVER went on my insurance

i would say im an expert on speeding tickets

[Edited on September 1, 2006 at 9:57 AM. Reason : l]

9/1/2006 9:57:00 AM

The only time I ever went to court without an attorney I got totally fucked. It was my first ticket and I did not know how the system worked. The DA reduced it to 11 over (which does you no good for insurance purposes) and used my PJC on it (which is stupid to do for your first speeding ticket when it can be reduced to 9 over).

Had I sprung an additionaly hundred bucks for a lawyer I would have paid a lot less in insurance in the next few years, and would not have had to go wait in court. As soon as I got an additional ticket later on the whole first one went through and the rates went up.

9/1/2006 10:02:32 AM

Quote :

"As soon as I got an additional ticket later on the whole first one went through and the rates went up."

HERE'S A THOUGHT, HOW ABOUT YOU LEARN HOW TO DRIVE

9/1/2006 10:29:35 AM

Well expired registration, expired inspection, no insurance. They pulled my tags. I have insurance and a registration/TN license plate. Did those THREE DAYS after the ticket. No inspection necessary in TN. I quit my job and was dead broke with no one who could help me so I did what I could and got caught the DAY before I moved. Luckily we planned on hitching my car on the back of a U-Haul anyways but a big bummer for the move. I deserved this of course but if I had the money beforehand it wouldn't have happened. So, I need legal advice.

9/1/2006 11:24:12 AM

do like i told ya

9/1/2006 11:39:21 AM

Quote :

"they are pretty cool about rescheduling,"

yea as long as you show up in court. If you dont I can tell you whats
going to happen

9/1/2006 9:19:50 PM

I asked the cop when he handed me the tickets if there was anything other than coming to court because I was moving to TN the very next day. He said if I don't get this fixed and show up there will be a warrant for my arrest. I was like OK THANKS FOR BEING NICE! He was a meanie.

Anyways lawyer sounds good. I potentially have a job now so things should settle out soon. Meep.

9/1/2006 9:49:48 PM

he wasn't a meanie - you broke the law...people have already told you what you should do

9/3/2006 7:31:31 PM