How to offer a plea bargain?

[Arizona_928]

Have a pretty substantial speeding ticket, was reading online that my best bet would either get a lawyer to offer a plea bargain for a lesser charge, or the possibility to do it myself.

soo how would one offer a plea bargain w/o a lawyer? I'm thinking going to the county prosecutors office and talking with the traffic prosecutor.
Would you advise something like that?

[speeder]

Only the prosecuting entity offers plea bargains. Not you. Your lawyer might be able to negotiate one with the prosecutor but I'd say that your chances of doing it yourself are substantially less.

Can you swing the $$ for a good ticket lawyer? Might be worth it.

[red-beard]

A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. A non-lawyer is worse. For the best outcome, you need to hire a lawyer who specializes in this stuff and knows the right people.

[DanielDudley]

At my age, I am going to get a break because of my spotless driving record. At your age, money would be well spent on a lawyer who specializes in driving offenses.

[dondarnell]

That's crap. Go to court and tell the prosecuter and cop that you want a deal or you get a lawyer. Be nice. Be very nice. Unless your a crimewave, they should cut you a deal. BTW, I'm a lawyer.

[dondarnell]

If that doesn't work, ask the Judge for an adjournment so that you can a lawyer-then get one.

[javadog]

I've negotiated all of my tickets, except one or two, myself. Once you figure out that all they want is your money, keeping the points off of your license isn't hard.

If you are young, a lawyer might be a better option.

JR

[stomachmonkey]

Always did the plea solo.

Success really depends on your local jurisdiction and how the courts are run.

Where I am now it's more like a store checkout. The desk clerks offer adjudication, you take it, pay your fine and keep your nose clean for 30 days and all is forgiven.

Back in NY it was always ADA and Judge.

You find the ADA before going into court, ask them for a reduction for a guilty and done.

You'd need to be Clyde Barrow to get turned down.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by dondarnell

That's crap. Go to court and tell the prosecuter and cop that you want a deal or you get a lawyer. Be nice. Be very nice. Unless your a crimewave, they should cut you a deal. BTW, I'm a lawyer.

When I lived in VA, anyone up on reckless driving didn't get any deal unless they had a lawyer. It was the same as a DUI. If you came to court without a lawyer, the judge gave you a continuance and told you to come back with a lawyer. In fact, the prosecutor wouldn't talk to anyone without a lawyer. You had to pay into the racket to get them to even talk to you. And there were plenty of traffic defense lawyers roaming the hallways whom you could hire on the spot. I don't know how it works in AZ, but for criminal speeding, you probably need a lawyer.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by javadog

Once you figure out that all they want is your money, keeping the points off of your license isn't hard.

yup

[ramonesfreak]

you need to very quickly convince the prosecutor that their case has a weakness. they have the burden of proving reasonable doubt. a prosecutor would rather win something ($) rather than nothing at all. if your record is clean and you have a strong defense and their case is weak, you can ask the prosecutor to accept a lesser plea. ive done it a few times, but i was the lawyer not the client

not all courts have prosecutors. ive been to some traffic courts in NY where there was only the judge, the cop and the defendant. in that case, i asked the judge if i could approach and then asked nicely for a lesser plea which was happily accepted because the judge wanted to go home and watch tv

research the court and whether there are prosecutors present or not before you get there.

if you go without a lawyer and dont see a prosecutor and dont know what to do, ask the judge for more time to get a lawyer

[Dueller]

A good lawyer knows the law.
A great lawyer knows the judge.

[ramonesfreak]

regarding whether you should "go to the prosecutors office"...uh, no. usually in traffic court, the lawyer and client get there early and the lawyer goes over to speak to the prosecutor before the calendar is called and they work something out. if you want to reach out to the prosecutor before the trial date, i would try to make a phone call but your chances of connecting with the actual prosecutor via telephone without legal representation is probably slim to none, but i could be wrong

if you speak to the prosecutor on the phone, be very careful as what you say can be used against you. do not admit anything and always be respectful

[ramonesfreak]

and DONT lie about your driving record. if its crap, they already know

good luck

[Dueller]

If your concern is having it on your record you might be able to go to traffic school if you qualify: Arizona Defensive Driving School

[Rick Lee]

If you're thinking about getting a lawyer, chances are the charges you face won't make you eligible for online traffic school. I did it for my wife's speed camera ticket, but that fine was the same as the cost of the online driving school. Serious criminal speeding will carry much larger fines, which means the state wants their money.

[Dueller]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

If you're thinking about getting a lawyer, chances are the charges you face won't make you eligible for online traffic school. I did it for my wife's speed camera ticket, but that fine was the same as the cost of the online driving school. Serious criminal speeding will carry much larger fines, which means the state wants their money.

Wonder if it was in the 928 or the Gixxer?

[speeder]

First thing to do is research the VC code of the violation you were written for. Post it and what they wrote on your ticket if you want. Sometimes you'll get lucky and the cop wrote you for the wrong thing, it's happened to me before. Case dismissed.

[Rick Lee]

When I got popped here a year ago, I decided to go to court. But it was only for 18 over, so that's not real serious in AZ and made me eligible for online driving school, which I find to be a racket, since it costs the same as the fine, most of it still going to the city. And besides, I flat out was not going even close to that fast and am positive the cop had someone else locked on his radar gun. Anyhooo....

I was totally prepared to argue my case in court (with photos, diagram and letter from city trans. dept. confirming lack of road study), but still asked for one extension and got it pushed back about three weeks. When I went to court, I looked over the docket and noticed they had each cop's case listed by the cop's ID number, not name. I noted the ID number of the cop for my case, looked at all the other dockets on all the other courtroom doors and saw I was his only case that day. That made it likely he wasn't going to both showing up just for me. And that's what happened. Had he been on the docket for several other cases, I would have called the clerk's office from the hallway and asked for an emergency extension. Had that not worked, I'd have tried to approach the prosecutor. I was the only person there besides the lawyers wearing a suit and I clean up pretty well and speak perfect English (that counts for plenty in some areas). Anyway, cop no-showed and I skated.

[ramonesfreak]

hoping the cop doesnt show up is not a good defensive strategy and rarely works unless the cop fails to show up 2 or 3 times. Judges know that a cop has a duty to perform his job, whether emergency or not, that outweighs his duty to be in court on some trivial speeding ticket. asking the judge to dismiss because the cop is not there, has never worked for me. if it worked for you, most likely you got lucky that day or, the judge probably felt the case was weak anyway

same for improperly written tickets unless its obviously so poorly written that there is no way you could prepare a defense