Reckless Driving Charge....A YEAR AND A HALF LATER

[92vig]

What kind of shit is this!? I get a summons in the mail stating I am to appear in court on June 25th. I call the District Court and see what this is about, they say it is a reckless driving charge that was just filed but occured in February 2009. I was like WHAT!?!? I didn't even get a ticket, wtf is going on?? And they had no info for me.

Got to thinking, this was when I got pulled over and they said I'd be getting a letter "in a couple weeks" for court....NEVER got the letter. UNTIL NOW. A fucking YEAR AND A HALF LATER and these motherfuckers are filing reckless charges on me!!

Called up a couple attorneys and they said in WA, they have up to two years to file charges!! WHAT THE FUCK MAN!?!?!? If it was a couple weeks or even a month, I could understand....but OVER A YEAR and they can do this shit!!?

All attorneys I talked to said they charge $3,000....one quoted me $4,000. So when I go to my arrainment, I am thinking of just getting a public defender.

How good are public defenders compared to an overpriced attorney?

[quickangel93]

damm sucks to be you

[deevergote]

It depends how good your case is... and how much of a charge you're looking at. I've plead down to reckless driving a few times. Cost me a few hundred dollars, no points... no big deal. I never even took it to trial.

[Flatline]

if your case is good then the only reason you'll need a PD is to deal with the formalities. If its not so good, then getting an attorney is your best bet. im surprised its so much though because i've spoken with attorneys here about Racing charges, which are misdemeanors and not traffic violations, and the highest i was quoted was about $1500.


if the case isnt great and your broke, take the PD and bargain with them. if you don't have a prior wreckless they'll drop it easily.

[deevergote]

The good thing is... THEIR case will be weaker since it's been so long.

[wed3k]

The good thing is... THEIR case will be weaker since it's been so long.

precisely, they have nothing to bring to the table. maybe a cop wont even show.

[accordkid16]

my friends mom just got her license suspended for something she did14 years ago. this is happening to alot of people.

[Shag Wagon]

Thats why I drive a moped! I save gas, miles, and keep out of the eyes of coppers.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

Defiantly get a lawyer... I paid out of pocket for a lawyer since over a certain income you make to much to have one provided for you..
It is a ridiculously low number to qualify for the defender... I think I made 3 or 4 times that amount at that time...


I got a reckless charge dropped with the lawyer ... It ended up costing about 3k but was worth it.. Its a criminal and can mess up future job opportunity for you.

[h22sparkle]

Oh shit bro what did you do that far back where they just came back to haunt your ass like that.

[93F22A6]

Wow dude that sucks, I had one about a yr ago, ended up paying 450 (discounted) for an attorney and she got it dropped to a non-moving violation and she even covered the court costs and fines. Good luck with it, never know how it might turn out.

[WilliamW]

my friends mom just got her license suspended for something she did14 years ago. this is happening to alot of people.

I'm gonna call BS. There is something called a statue of limitations. This means that you can not get in trouble for something you did past that date. Such as 92 up there, his state has a 2 year statue of limitation, from the point the infraction was made. In MO it's also 2 years. There is no way any state has a 15 year statue of limitation. Even if your friends mom got points on her license back then, after 14 years she would have a clean slate. It only takes 3 years for all points to be removed from your license in MO. Again, more than 14 years is BS. Your not getting the whole story.



92vig, Look up what the consequences are for a reckless driving. If it's not that bad and you've had a good past history (tickets moving violations) you could argue that this is your first infraction and maybe get off. If not you may just want to do the community service and pay a fine.

[92vig]

My driving record in 2007 wasnt so great....tickets galore. 4 of those are dropping off next month which is going to do wonders for my insurance. I have 18 fucking points on my license...not good. Most are for 10 over the limit, one is neg driving because I didnt use my signal plus was speeding 12 over on the hwy. Asshole cop.

The punishment is up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine PLUS license suspended for 30 days AND REQUIRES SR22 for 3 years. This is something I dont want.

I dont have 3k for an attorney...and to be honest, that is a huge rip off. 1500 bucks maybe I could do. If I cant get a PD then I guess I will have to represent myself...better gettin crackin on those law books.

[Shag Wagon]

I was given a reckless driving ticket by a bored city cop when I happened to speed up a little quickly on a little side road. He said I fucking kicked it and caught second. I hated to tell the cop my car is an automatic and no 4 banger automatic catches second unless that shit has alot of mods done to it. Tried to fight it in court and lost, even with pictures and videos of what my car can do at full throttle.

[buckysaccord93]

I'm gonna call BS. There is something called a statue of limitations. This means that you can not get in trouble for something you did past that date. Such as 92 up there, his state has a 2 year statue of limitation, from the point the infraction was made. In MO it's also 2 years. There is no way any state has a 15 year statue of limitation. Even if your friends mom got points on her license back then, after 14 years she would have a clean slate. It only takes 3 years for all points to be removed from your license in MO. Again, more than 14 years is BS. Your not getting the whole story.



92vig, Look up what the consequences are for a reckless driving. If it's not that bad and you've had a good past history (tickets moving violations) you could argue that this is your first infraction and maybe get off. If not you may just want to do the community service and pay a fine.

he lives in canada. do you know canadian law? could be very different for them