What to do about a traffic ticket
We service Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, and Federal Court Jurisdiction (Lake Mead and Mt. Charleston).
The Wright Law Offices has been asked why a firm that handles family and criminal law would handle trivial traffic tickets.
We have good reasons for doing so. Most people rarely need an attorney, and when they do, they do not know where to turn. Handling traffic tickets allows us to reach out to the public so that it can learn about our other legal services.
Traffic tickets are relatively easy for attorneys who know what they are doing, so it is not a huge problem for us to dedicate a little time to help a citizen. Also, our clients in other areas of law may require this service so they do not have to miss work and waste hours at the courthouse. Another reason we like traffic citations is that it gives us an opportunity to get out of the office and go to court where we can interact with other lawyers and judges. But, our best reason for handling traffic tickets is that it introduces our firm’s other services to our traffic ticket clients. We have resolved thousands of traffic citations since 2005 and several have come to us for other matters.
If you are from outside the state of Nevada, you may read our articles about California driving and how it can get visitors or recent immigrants to Nevada in trouble.
First things to remember when being pulled over
Terrible way to deal with a police officer
Better way to deal with a police officer
Hiring us for your traffic ticket
Instructions:
Simply mail a copy of your traffic citation, a copy of your driver’s license, a cashier’s check or money order made out to “The Wright Law Offices, PC” for the appropriate amount listed below, and your personal contact information including e-mail and phone number. If your traffic ticket includes traffic citations for not having current registration or proof of insurance, send copies of proof of those as well.
If you currently have a warrant for your arrest for failing to take care of the traffic ticket on time, add $150 to the fee below:
Las Vegas Municipal Court: $50
Las Vegas Justice Court: $50
Henderson Justice Court: $50
Henderson Municipal Court: $50
North Las Vegas Justice Court: $100
North Las Vegas Municipal Court Goodsprings Court: $100
Boulder City Municipal Court: $100
Boulder City Justice Court: $100
Common Missteps:
“I don’t need a lawyer for traffic tickets…”
Actually, if you live or get a traffic ticket in Clark County, Nevada, having a lawyer assist you with a traffic ticket makes way more sense than handling the traffic ticket on your own. You might be thinking that I am just saying this because I am an attorney and want your traffic ticket business. Well, yes and no. Yes, I am an attorney and I want your business, but even if I wasn’t, knowing what I know, I would still recommend that people have lawyers handle their traffic tickets. Some of the reasons are listed as follows:
- Attorneys get preferential treatment at court. Our wait in line is shorter, we get through the metal detectors faster, and we know where to park and how much we have to feed the parking meters.
- Non-attorneys often will go to court, have to take their shoes and belts off before being allowed into the courthouse, will have to wait for one to four hours for their number to be called at a window only to be told that the ticket is not in the system yet and they will have to come back another day. Then, when they go out to their car, shaking their heads that they wasted a vacation day to deal with this, they find that they have a parking ticket on their windshield because the meter expired while they were waiting in line for nothing.
- Attorneys often get the tickets reduced to non-moving violations without points on the driving record and no traffic school.
- Non-attorneys pay the full fine at the window, get points on their driving record, and will have to take traffic school (which costs money and takes hours of time) in order to get the points removed from the driving records. You do not want points on your driving record because when your insurance company learns about them, they could increase your premiums.
- Attorneys know the court staff and judges and are more comfortable talking to them and getting results.
- Non-attorneys are frustrated at the whole process and show their contempt to the staff and judges causing only more grief for themselves. (There is an old saying that only a fool represents himself in court).
- Attorneys get a traffic citation (which is a criminal charge) reduced to a non-criminal charge.
- Non-attorneys pay the fine on the criminal charge–basically agreeing they are guilty of a crime.
- I’m sure I could think of more reasons why attorneys are more useful in saving you time, money, and stress in traffic court. Call us.
Nevada Considers Speeding a Crime!
Traffic violations are considered crimes by the State of Nevada. That’s right, not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, failing to use a turn signal, speeding, tailgating, and etc. are all CRIMES. They are misdemeanors punishable by high fines, jail of up to 6 months, community service, traffic school, and even visits to the morgue. Beyond these punishments, you also have to use your precious time going to court, waiting in line, and risk points on your driving record and the resulting increase in insurance premiums. It is strongly advised that you have an attorney assist you. Usually this means that you will simply have to pay a reduced fine, months down the road, and that’s it. No wasted time, no stress, no points, no increased insurance premiumsæœust payment to the lawyer for the service and then payment to the court for the fine.
Fake Traffic Ticket Lawyers Scamming People
BEWARE! There are people claiming to be lawyers in Las Vegas promising to fix traffic tickets. If you meet someone who makes this claim but are not sure whether they are really an attorney, you should contact the State Bar of Nevada and ask.
If you hire a fake lawyer, not only do you lose the money you gave them, but you could end up with a warrant for your arrest, larger fines, jail time, and points on your driving record because the false attorney did not do a thing for you through the courts. Do not fall victim. If someone is scamming you, get their information and call the Nevada Bar and the police immediately
Give the State Bar the name of the attorney and ask them if he or she is licensed in Nevada. Only then should you feel comfortable hiring the person. You may also call The Wright Law Offices and we will check to see whether someone is really an attorney for you.
Be Polite to Police
The Las Vegas Valley has four jurisdictions within which to get a moving violation: Clark County (Justice Court Jurisdiction), Las Vegas (Las Vegas Municipal Court Jurisdiction), Henderson (Henderson Municipal Court Jurisdiction), and North Las Vegas (North Las Vegas Municipal Court Jurisdiction).
Thus, our little metropolis has four parts patrolled by police that belong to each jurisdiction. Las Vegas Metro cruises around Las Vegas and Clark County, however the cops in Henderson stick to Henderson and the cops in North Las Vegas stick to North Las Vegas.
When you get a citation, one of the first things to look for on the citation is which jurisdiction you are in. It is possible that the cop cited you outside of his jurisdiction. If so, do not argue with the “peace” officer because it could ruin your day, if not your life. Instead, smile warmly, thank him for protecting public safety, and take the ticket to an attorney who will argue the jurisdiction issue before a judge or district attorney who will likely dismiss the citation or greatly reduce the severity–say reducing it from speeding 25 mph over the limit to a parking ticket.
You should consider a few things when you receive a ticket. Yes, you are probably guilty. If you are guilty, you committed a crime. The crime is a misdemeanor, which is the least severe crime to be charged with. Even though a fine is usually the punishment, jail time and community service are also at the Judge’s disposal, along with requiring traffic school, and points on your driving record–which can result increased insurance premiums.
If it makes you feel better, consider it not a punishment but a user tax. If you use your vehicle a certain way, expect to pay a tax for doing so. The jurisdictions raise revenue through these user taxes. We live in a state that has no personal income tax, so be grateful about that. However, do not ignore the court appearance date or you could be faced with a “bench warrant” for your arrest. This is not fun because you will likely go to jail if stopped again. In addition, an attorney will charge extra to quash the warrant.
Please note, the worst thing you can do is act upset with the police officer who stopped you. They may treat you very poorly, they may search your person (it’s called a “Terry Pat Down Search”) to look for a weapon or drugs…likewise they may search the passenger compartment of your car all in the name of officer safety. They may do these things on their own initiative, but if they ask to search, politely refuse to consent. If they have to ask, then they probably do not have the requisite reasonable suspicion or probable cause to do it without your consent. It is not wise to consent to a search because cops can literally tear your car apart as part of the search. And then there is the possibility that someone left contraband in your car that you were never aware of-try denying it is yours-I dare you. Cops, district attorneys, and judges have heard that argument a hundred billion times. The best thing to do is to not consent to a search no matter how innocent you believe you are.
Officers are sometimes known to violate Civil Rights and the law, but they have the guns and their buddies in blue to back them up, therefore it is in your interest to be on their best side. The best revenge for a traffic ticket is to hire a lawyer to represent your interest at the courthouse.
Usually lawyers can settle the ticket and you’ll end up only having to pay a fine. If you are the type of person to get tickets all over the valley, you should note that some jurisdictions have much heftier fines than others do. I will not tell you which because I want you to be on your best behavior while driving at all times, but just know that a ticket in one part of town may be 5 times more expensive than in another part of town–even after the ticket has been reduced.
My public service message to you is to treat the ticket like a user tax, smile at the officer politely so that you can live to pay the fine. Most importantly, hire my firm to represent you for your traffic citation. By doing so, you will not have to appear in court-which could be an all day affair for you and I think you probably have better things to do. Call me and ask us what we charge, I firmly believe that when you know what you get from an attorney for the money you pay, you will deem it worthwhile to hire an attorney for your tickets.