Pleading guilty to speeding tickets

In contrast to my earlier post today, something in the same ballpark just popped up.

In this case, the client pled guilty by mail to three speeding tickets between 5/04 and 9/05 (within 18 months of each other). Under NY law, you get your license revoked for that. Each of his speeds were relatively minor (81-85 mph in 65 mph zone).

Had she hired a good lawyer to handle these tickets, each would likely have been reduced to a non-moving violation (the 85 would be a close call, but still a good reduction).

So now she's paying me substantially more than what it costs to handle one of these normally, for me to do writs of coram nobis. Under coram nobis, I apply to the Court to vacate the original conviction, then we start over.

Unfortunately in the first Court, the ADA was unwilling to agree to anything less than a 3-point speed, so now we have to move in another court (or go to trial in the first court, which is unwise). The reason for not reducing lower -- client has 3 recent speeding tickets. I explained that one of those is the one we're negotiating, but even with 2 recent tickets, the ADA would not agree to a larger reduction.

That's why you want to keep your record clean, and why it's generally a good idea to consult a traffic ticket lawyer early on, rather than when it's too late.