Like clockwork I’m asked at least once a week whether I would suggest a potential client retain my services to fight a traffic violation in court. Like everything else in life, there are no cut and dry answers to this question. However, there are some general rules of thumb as to when it’s in your interest to have a criminal defense lawyer or dui lawyer by your side in court and when it might not be the wisest financial choice.

1.) If charged with a criminal traffic offense such as Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, Driving While Suspended, Reckless Driving, etc., it is almost always in one’s interest to have a criminal criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles by your side.   Any traffic offense that can land you in jail and/or with a suspended license is one that should be handled by a criminal criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles. Depending upon the jurisdiction, too many good people make the critical mistake of thinking that a court appearance is not a big deal if it is heard in traffic court. After all, “I’m not a criminal” such people say to themselves, why do I need to retain a criminal defense lawyer? Whether one likes it or not, drunk driving, driving while suspended , reckless driving etc. are considered criminal offenses in nearly all American courtrooms.

Unfortunately, one always has to keep in mind that a traffic law prosecutor often gets promoted on the severity of the criminal sentence imposed and NOT in looking out for one accused of a driving offenses best interests. As a result, it is often imperative that one accused of such a criminal offense in traffic court not leave potential criminal penalty and/or license suspension in the hands of one assigned to prosecute you for a criminal offense.  By sending a message to a prosecutor that you will not be taken advantage of, it is often only the services of a criminal criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles that can eliminate the prospect of jail and/or probation with costly impediments to your liberty and livelihood.

By finding ways to reduce criminal charges that may otherwise prevent license suspensions with costly increases in high risk insurance rates or by impressing upon a prosecutor that it will require more effort than a prosecution is worth not to resolve the case in a prompt and fair manner, an effective criminal criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles is often well worth the financial investment.  Depending upon the state, it is always advisable to consult with a criminal lawyer for free as to the criminal offense charged in traffic court and a winning strategy to employ within the particular courtroom one finds themselves in.

2.) One does not need to employ a criminal defense lawyer or dui criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles if charged with a traffic “infraction” that may not result in possible jail time or possible driver’s license suspension.  In most American courtrooms a traffic infraction is a traffic violation that is punishable by monetary fine and/or adverse points to your driving record.

Unless  circumstances exist where too many traffic infractions accumulated may result in a license suspension by your state’s department of motor vehicles, it is usually a wiser financial move to save whatever monies would be payable to a criminal criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles and use it to pay for any potential traffic fine for the violation. Yes, a defense criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles may be willing to fight an infraction for you in court at trial. However, in good conscience there are many criminal criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeless such as myself who take the position that such actions usually do more to benefit the financial interests of the trial criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles as opposed to the client paying them.

“But the police officer was wrong to ticket me, do I not have the right to go to trial?” Yes, you have the right to trial. However, unlike a criminal case standard whereby a prosecutor must find a criminal defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to sustain a criminal conviction, a traffic infraction is far different. To sustain a conviction for a traffic infraction, a prosecutor need only prove evidence of a driving offense by a “preponderance of the evidence,” or in plain English, “more likely than not.”

In the real world “in my opinion” too many judges are constrained in siding for those challenging traffic infractions, for to side with one challenging a ticket is to rebuke a police officer who will undoubtedly come before that same judge on a regular basis. Are there courageous and principled jurists in infraction trials

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