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Long story short, got a reckless ticket want to plead it down to unsafe operation. How do I go about doing that I've never been to court before. Do I need a lawyer to plead it down? I know I'm going to have to pay some.fines for this.
WildBillyT
04-20-2012, 08:48 PM
From my experience they will knock it down one step without a lawyer. You just ask to see the prosecutor and take the plea bargain.
Reckless to careless, or from careless to unsafe.
It also depends on how flagrant the violation was.
NJ Torque
04-20-2012, 08:51 PM
With a reckless...lawyer up.
Dumped the clutch and slid into a u-turn. A cop in an avenger was right there. I pulled over as soon as I saw lights I was pretty far ahead of him before he turned em on.
NJ Torque
04-20-2012, 08:59 PM
Not like he was giving you an added ticket cuase he was being a dick...sounds pretty reckless.
I told him I knew what I did there were no words exchanged really, "liscense and registration, you know what you did right" thats all that was said. Im not contesting to the fact that I didnt deserve the ticket, just dont want the points so Ill pay the cash to not have them. Ive just never had to appear in court, so I dont know how it works, only gotten front plate, and registration tickets before. Guess Im getting a lawyer, pleading it to a carless, then taking the safer driving course or whatever, because I have 2 points already and dont want to get hit with the surcharges.
shadowfire
04-20-2012, 09:42 PM
get a lawyer they can downgrade it
townsend
04-20-2012, 10:50 PM
good luck man...get a lawyer..trust me
redsoxsstink
04-20-2012, 11:01 PM
i went and got a lawyer when i got a reckless. i merged onto a highway improperly and was speeding 60-in45 and he "cut me a break" and just gave me a reckless..... that was no break thats worse. well i got a lawyer and they bumped it to unsafe driving, no points but in the end i paid about 450 for the ticket/court costs and 250 for the lawyer...
Slow-V6
04-21-2012, 07:15 AM
My 1st reckless ticket for racing I went to court and pleaded guilty and the Judge knocked it down to Careless driving which still carried 3 points I believe. I didnt use a lawyer and because I never had a bad violation before the judge cut me some slack. As long as your driving record is somewhat clean you should be good to go..
I have two careless and two points on my.liscense currently.
Slow-V6
04-21-2012, 08:02 AM
I have two careless and two points on my.liscense currently.
Well in that case I would get a Lawyer..
NastyEllEssWon
04-21-2012, 07:34 PM
Well in that case I would get a Lawyer..
x 100
as for pleading down to unsafe with two carelesses on your record the prosecutor might not even make that deal with a lawyer, its iffy, they might feel that you need to ''learn a lesson''. im inclined to agree with the prosecutor on this one.
zuuhlsT/A
04-21-2012, 09:10 PM
I have two careless and two points on my.liscense currently.
You're lawyer better kick ass or you are totally screwed. Try Mike Kelly for you're lawyer. Kept my ass outta jail a few times....DMV wise.....
qwikz28
04-21-2012, 11:21 PM
Reckless driving is a misdemeanor and technically constitutes an arrest on your record. Get a traffic lawyer. They are cheap, and effective. Good luck getting it down to unsafe operation, unless the cop is easy-going.
Tru2Chevy
04-21-2012, 11:42 PM
With 2 points and a few careless tickets in the past on your record, you definitely should get a lawyer and hope for the best. Ask around with your local friends and anyone you may know who works for the court system in the jurisdiction where the ticket was issued - having a lawyer who is friendly with the prosecutor and/or judge in that town will help you out greatly.
As usual, make sure you dress nice for your court date, full suit or at least a shirt and tie. Be polite, be honest, and hope for the best.
- Justin
evilz99
04-22-2012, 12:00 AM
Pretty sure you can only downgrade to no points 2 times within a 5 yr period so depending when you got Yur other stuff u may be screwed either way. Honestly dude. You should pronouns calm down a little bit before you kill your self or someone else. I livein the sticks and people fly down my 25mph rd it wouldn't be a big deal if they would at least slow down when they see my kids are out front playing. But thats what rocks are for. And I dare them to stop and ask why i threw rocks at them so I can pull them out the car. There is a time and place for everything. Seems like you havnt learned that yet. Took me a little while to grow our of it too lol. But just remember if you screw up and lose it one day you may walj away unscratched but you better hope someone's kid isn't stuck in your bumper!
S.J.SLEEPER
04-22-2012, 12:09 AM
yeah... not to be a dick but, two careless already... then a reckless, sounds like you haven't learned your lesson or had two previous jackoffs for cops. Either way, you can get it dropped down, but they are still gonna stick you with a pts carrying careless. Your record speaks for itself in the eyes of the judge/prosecutor.
Pretty sure you can only downgrade to no points 2 times within a 5 yr period so depending when you got Yur other stuff u may be screwed either way. Honestly dude. You should pronouns calm down a little bit before you kill your self or someone else. I livein the sticks and people fly down my 25mph rd it wouldn't be a big deal if they would at least slow down when they see my kids are out front playing. But thats what rocks are for. And I dare them to stop and ask why i threw rocks at them so I can pull them out the car. There is a time and place for everything. Seems like you havnt learned that yet. Took me a little while to grow our of it too lol. But just remember if you screw up and lose it one day you may walj away unscratched but you better hope someone's kid isn't stuck in your bumper!
I didnt do anything with the other two careless, just took the points since it didnt affect my insurance any. The first one had gone away, and then I got the second one which would have went away in July of this year.
evilz99
04-22-2012, 09:05 AM
oh ok well then you should be fine all you have to do is talk to the prosecutor there will be a huge line of everyone doing it just wait in line and when you get to him tell him you would like to have it downgraded to a no point violation. then they will all act like they dont give 2 ****s and you go back to the judge they will down grade it and thats the end
they care more about the money than the points
usually they only give the unsafe operation gift to someone with an otherwise clean record, the two previous careless tickets will probably bite you in the ass here.
evilz99
04-22-2012, 01:32 PM
Maybe but I think. You'll be alright. Either way I doubt a lawyer will make much difference at this point. But I am no expert.
fmybody
04-22-2012, 10:13 PM
If money aint a thang get a lawyer and he will tell you exactly what to do, he may even know the judge and be super friendly with him/her.
If you cant afford that then go and try to plead it yourself, depending on what town you're in they might just automatically plea with you with out even asking you what happened... in which case take the plea and then take a safe driver test or something.
just my .02 I was once facing 8 points at once, got a lawyer and left with 0 points. Had too pay like 500 that night tho just in court fees and stuff. (got help from my dad paying for the lawyer)
If money aint a thang get a lawyer and he will tell you exactly what to do, he may even know the judge and be super friendly with him/her.
If you cant afford that then go and try to plead it yourself, depending on what town you're in they might just automatically plea with you with out even asking you what happened... in which case take the plea and then take a safe driver test or something.
just my .02 I was once facing 8 points at once, got a lawyer and left with 0 points. Had too pay like 500 that night tho just in court fees and stuff. (got help from my dad paying for the lawyer)
Money aint an issue Im not bad off, I have a good paying job that I would like to keep, so the points have to go
The judge is irrelevant. You get a deal from the prosecutor. The jude will follow their recommendations.
Slow-V6
04-23-2012, 06:44 AM
Or you get a lawyer that is hated by the prosecuter and judge.. In this case wouldnt the prosecuter be the cop? All 3 of my reckless cases it was the cop!!
sweetbmxrider
04-23-2012, 07:00 AM
Or you get a lawyer that is hated by the prosecuter and judge.. In this case wouldnt the prosecuter be the cop? All 3 of my reckless cases it was the cop!!
No. Usually its State vs. (Your Name) and the prosecutor acts on the states behalf while the cop would act as the complaining witness if need be.
evilz99
04-23-2012, 07:58 AM
^ that
The prosecutor is the attorney for the state (town). The cop that issued the tickets is a witness for the state (town). The judge is there as a moderator between the 2 sides and if you go without an attorney they will most likely side with the prosecutors recommendation.
79T/A
04-23-2012, 02:11 PM
oh ok well then you should be fine all you have to do is talk to the prosecutor there will be a huge line of everyone doing it just wait in line and when you get to him tell him you would like to have it downgraded to a no point violation. then they will all act like they dont give 2 ****s and you go back to the judge they will down grade it and thats the end
I have to disagree with this. With reckless, GET A LAWYER AND bring money with you to court.
fmybody
04-23-2012, 02:37 PM
It must depend on the town because when I did not take the plea from the prosecutor, he told me to get a lawyer. So when I got a lawyer I had a separate case, and the judge was the one whom my lawyer spoke to directly.
BonzoHansen
04-23-2012, 02:56 PM
It must depend on the town because when I did not take the plea from the prosecutor, he told me to get a lawyer. So when I got a lawyer I had a separate case, and the judge was the one whom my lawyer spoke to directly.
It appears the issue is the reckless charge, and not careless or speeding. Jake posted up before that is a misdemeanor. But he doesn't sit for the bar exam for another few weeks.;)
Reckless driving is a misdemeanor and technically constitutes an arrest on your record. Get a traffic lawyer. They are cheap, and effective. Good luck getting it down to unsafe operation, unless the cop is easy-going.
fmybody
04-23-2012, 06:05 PM
If money aint a thang get a lawyer and he will tell you exactly what to do, he may even know the judge and be super friendly with him/her.
If you cant afford that then go and try to plead it yourself, depending on what town you're in they might just automatically plea with you with out even asking you what happened... in which case take the plea and then take a safe driver test or something.
just my .02 I was once facing 8 points at once, got a lawyer and left with 0 points. Had too pay like 500 that night tho just in court fees and stuff. (got help from my dad paying for the lawyer)
The judge is irrelevant. You get a deal from the prosecutor. The jude will follow their recommendations.
I should have quoted.. this is what i was replying to. best of luck
Got a lawyer today, bye bye pay check.
redsoxsstink
04-24-2012, 06:57 PM
my lawyer cost 250 bucks for the whole deal. be prepared to go to court and spend atleast $450, i would bring cash, courts like cash
my lawyer cost 250 bucks for the whole deal. be prepared to go to court and spend atleast $450, i would bring cash, courts like cash
Mine was $850 but since I had a referral he knocked $350 off the price, but from what ive heard their the best firm to have for the township I got the ticket in.
redsoxsstink
04-24-2012, 07:08 PM
hmmm thats weird maybe bc of your record? when i got the ticket i got mail from atleast 5 attorneys in the area and they all seemed reasonable from 250-450$. maybe for you they tacked on extra for your record being tainted?
fmybody
04-25-2012, 05:58 PM
deff bring like 500 cash with you... I think the cost of the lawyer depends on charges.. I believe mine was $600
Yes cost of the lawyer was based on the charges, but they are supposedly the best for the township I got the ticket in. Lawyer is already paid ill just have to pay the court fees/surcharges now pending the outcome.
91zconvert
04-25-2012, 11:46 PM
Long story short, got a reckless ticket want to plead it down to unsafe operation. How do I go about doing that I've never been to court before. Do I need a lawyer to plead it down? I know I'm going to have to pay some.fines for this.
ask to talk to the prosecuter before you see the judge.if you have a clean record then he should agree,just be prepared to pay a heavier fine.i myself have to go to court for a speeding ticket next month.i asked around and i was told that your allowed 2 unsafe operations in 10 years.:facepalm:
keep me posted on how you make out
fmybody
04-26-2012, 02:52 PM
ask to talk to the prosecuter before you see the judge.if you have a clean record then he should agree,just be prepared to pay a heavier fine.i myself have to go to court for a speeding ticket next month.i asked around and i was told that your allowed 2 unsafe operations in 10 years.:facepalm:
keep me posted on how you make out
OP does not have a clean record.
Keep us all posted, GOOD LUCK!
Slow-V6
04-27-2012, 09:46 AM
If you have a lawyer I wouldnt ask anything. The Lawyer will do all the work..
1_Hot_SOM_WS6
04-27-2012, 01:01 PM
I would get a lawyer. Reckless is pretty serious. From my exp, it usually goes hand and hand with a DUI.
As far as the unsafe op's you are allowed 2 in a 5yr time period.
Good luck.
sweetbmxrider
04-28-2012, 05:40 PM
They changed the unsafe operation. I believe its now one and done if its not gone all together.
Just figured I would update, unsafe operation $330 no points
WildBillyT
05-22-2012, 01:41 PM
Just figured I would update, unsafe operation $330 no points
Looks like it worked out well for you, aside from the $830 cost.
Looks like it worked out well for you, aside from the $830 cost.
Yeah
bigz28man
05-22-2012, 08:28 PM
if you want some advice from a cop ... here is mine, you can plea not guilty and have the the reckless knocked down to the careless and take the 2 points instead of the 5 that the reckless would give you. If you lawyer up, you more than likely will get the reckless knocked down to 2 counts of unsafe driving. speak with a lawyer about that and ask him/her what your chances are. Also what I look at with a prosecutor and similar cases as this, is what the drivers abstract looks like....if you have a clean history you should be ok. Hope that helps....btw what township were you in?
bigz28man
05-22-2012, 08:45 PM
ooops....just caught the tail end of this tread, looks like you went through the process already. Well anyway glad it worked out for you.
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