NJ Ticket advice

so i got my first ever ticket yesterday for not coming to a dead stop before turning right on a red light 2 points as far as i can work out. I have lived in NJ for only a year and so I am completely unfamiliar with how the whole system works. Do I just sign the form and take it like a man or do I go and argue my case (that I did slow significantly, and I had clear line of sight of the empty road so knew it was safe to continue). Secondly, whats the likely impact on my insurance if I take the points.

If you have the time.....I would send it in as a not guilty plea...do not ask for any supporting documentation if there is a box for that. When you get a trial date....there should be a prosecutor in court who will offer you a plea bargain. Possibly no points, and with that, you'll have no negative impact on your license. The less points, the better....ALWAYSSSSS. Good luck, J

I don't know the system in NJ, but if you actually go to traffic court and plead guilty, the judge will allow you to make a statement. If you tell him/her that you have a clean record, they **normally** will give you a reduced fine and sometimes even 6 months probation instead of points on your license.

Seems like your best bet is just asking for a break. Based on your statement above, you're factually guilty (I'm pretty sure the law requires you to stop , not "slow significantly"). The judge certainly won't make the fine higher than the pay-by-mail option, so all you're risking is the time off from work. I recommend you consult with someone admitted to the practice of law in New Jersey. I am not, and cannot offer you legal advice - just common sense advice.

Bummer! That's a dumb ticket. If you're caught for something at least make it a good ticket. This one might be worth a little time to get reduced.

Oh, I'm guilty, I accept that. Just that this cop was a bit over zealous in my opinion and nobody stops dead on a right turn on red......i could see the oncoming traffic very clearly. Or rather I couldn't cos there wasn't any. I'm not about to get a lawyer involved in such a minor issue as it sems like total overkill, so I guess I will see if I can go along and plead stupidity

You will be getting solicitations from lot's of attorneys in the mail. Pick one pay him (mine was $ 300) and they plead you down to a no points violation. With Insurance surcharge etc this is the cheaper route.

Hi again, You shouldn't be receiving any solicitations in the mail...considered unethetical here up north (unless there has been a recent ethical code change). I know in the south...it's very common. Anyhow, I am admitted to practice law in NY....and I do a TON of vehicle and traffic cases. If you don't want to spend the money to get an attorney, I suggest you take my advice above. That is exactly how things work in NJ. You can call the Court to ensure how that particular court works. You will 99% get a reduction in court. Best of luck, J

JB Can't argue the ethics but I got a ticket with-in next few weeks I got over 30 mailings. When I pled not gulty I got antother 30. For awhile there they outnumbered the credit card solicitaions.

JB Can't argue the ethics but I got a ticket with-in next few weeks I got over 30 mailings. When I pled not gulty I got antother 30. For awhile there they outnumbered the credit card solicitaions. I am in NJ

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Lawyers who need the work (read that anyway you want) will have their staff go into municipal court offices once a week or so to review summons issued. They will then send out the letters that have already been refered to. If I where you I would plead not guilty. Your call on weither or not to retain an attorney. On the day of your court apperance, go early and ask to speek to the prosecutor. Tell him you are willing to plead guilty to "unsafe movement". This violation carries no points but the fine is pretty stiff. This violation was made just for cases like this, first offense, etc.... You can only use this "defense" every 2 or 3 years. Check with the court to make sure you will be able to talk to the prosecutor before court starts. An attorney is not necessary to make this request. I have seen many cases where the driver themselves made the request and it was granted. Having an an attorney will more then likely insure that it will be granted. Your call.....good luck

Ddun, Thanks for the info....I guess soliciting is a go in NJ. Very interesting. In NY....a huge NO NO. However, I have been hearing talk about some allowing it in the future....nothing concrete tho. I hope that doesn't happen, as it will most likely dig into my incoming business, with all the competition being able to send mailings. Oh well :-( Yes....go to court....it WILL be reduced. You really don't need an attorney for that offense....just the larger citations.....or if your license is getting points racked up. Worst case scenario.....if you feel like you are being railroaded...politely ask the judge for an adjournment in order to seek counsel if you need to. Best, J

Find out who the local public defender is in the town and talk to them. They know all the officers, who's willing to bend, who'll give you a break, etc. Talking to the prosecutor is one thing, but the officer who gave you the ticket has his say. The best person to talk to is the town public defender as he/she is friends with most of the officers in town. Where in NJ do you live? I'm in Northern NJ, Pequannock. Luckily I've only had to go to court once in the past 10 years. Before that, my record was pretty ugly. I got more speeding tickets driving a 1988 Ford Bronco then I did driving a Porsche! -Richie

do exactly as JBRipps says above, but I'll add this as well. while your waiting for the prosecutor to speak to you if you see the officer, pull him aside, introduce yourself, shake his hand,and tell him you would really appreciate it if he'd drop it to no points since you slowed significantly, had a clear view of the oncoming traffic and posed no danger to anyone at any time. also tell him you have a clean driving history with no points in XXX years (don't lie). when he says yes , he'll then tell the prosecutor he spoke to you before you even get in there to see him..

If you should decide that you are going to plead guilty, you could state that you were listening to the Beach Boys and did a California stop.

It's been some time since I've been in traffic court, but unless things have changed, judges routinely offered PBJ to those with clean driving records. So you simply pay court costs and you are put on probation for a period of time that varies by jurisdiction. If you are not convicted of another traffic violation during your probation period, the violation is expunged from your record. Otherwise you will be hit with the two points.

Different situation here... I got popped going 95 on 295. I pleaded not guilty and have a court date on the 18th. I plan on asking for the court (clerk) for a public records request. This document is public information for the state trooper, his training, equipment calibration, etc... If any of the items within that record have expired or are not updated then my summons can be dismissed. http://www.cleandrivingrecord.com

My wife gota similar ticket last year in NC but it was from a Red Light camera which snapped a photo since she did not make a full stop before turning. $50 and no points and a free photo I heard about someone in NJ who got pulled for making a left turn at an intersection and in the backroound there was a no-left turn sign and the cop pulled him and 4 other drivers over. No get this, he had a green left turn arrow that was lit. He got a ticket for reckless driving and 4 points and went to court to fight it and the judge said that the sign take precedence over the traffic signal. John

Do what JB says! I did the same thing twice. Not guilty, go to court on the assigned date, there will be a prosecuter there. They ask at the start "who wants to talk to the prosecutor?". You get in line, and you will get the points taken away. They most likely WILL keep the fee though. Worth it. PS-- most insurance companies don't care about 2 points, only 4 point offenses. Check with your insurance first!

Best off listening to JB. He's got it correct about the way it works in NJ. Get a cheap lawyer. You need him to do one simple thing. You need him to be a lawyer that talks to the other lawyer (prosecutor). It's a guarantee. Lawyers would rather deal with lawyers. Have your lawyer plea bargain down to "unsafe driving". It's the rage here in NJ. It's a nondescript ticket that carries no points but the fine is a few hundred bucks, much higher than the original ticket. The courts love it. They not in business to give out points. They're in business to MAKE MONEY. For that exact reason, don't try to ask the judge for a break or actually plead not guilty. It won't happen. The judge is the wrong man for the former and as far as the latter, he will not give up revenue for the town. NO ONE LEAVES traffic court without paying. Try the "unsafe driving". You'll love it too.

1. call the court, plea not guilty, get the court date 2. go to the court on the court, talk to the prosecutor, he will make a deal to amend the charge to "unsafe operation", which has no points, but you need to pay more fine. 3. accept the offer, talk to the judge, and pay for it. Note: 1. you don't need a lawyer. you don't need to negiate with prosecutor. he will offer you reduced charge on the spot, unless you had some problem with the cop when he/she wrote the ticket. 2. go to the court VERY early so you can beat everyone else, or VERY late so you don't have to wait. good luck!

+1

avoid points in NJ at all costs. Before McGreevey left office he made all sorts of arrangement to bring Insurance companies back into the state after they left in droves. One of the changes was that the Insurance companies could really whack it to anyone with so much as a point. case in point: I failed to pay a parking ticket (issued on Sunday afternoon) in a timely manner (60 days) and this little town convinced the state DMV to suspend my license. I was notified by mail that I no longer had the right to drive on a barely legible dot matrix printout. I had the license reinstated (what a hassle) and paid the parking ticket. I asked the DMV if this would affect my insurance and they said it was up to my insurance company. I asked if they could remove this "suspension" from my record and they said no sir. When it came time to renew my six month insurance GEICO hit me with a $600 surcharge. Despite the fact that I have not had a single accident or moving violation in over 12 years The insurance company has the right to lump an unpaid parking ticket offender in with a drunk driver. The insurance companies in NJ spare no mercy if there are any blemishes to your driving record.

so true, exp. you have a porsche in your policy............

The above is normally the way it works. My daughter within the last year received the same type of ticket here in NJ. She did exactly what was outlined above. No need for a lawyer in most municipalities. Just line up with everyone else to talk to the prosecutor before the judge comes. With a clean record they will most likely reduce it to a non-moving violation, so no points. The catch is the fine is normally much higher. My daughter paid $400 to avoid points. I had a similar situation myself two years ago and the same thing happened. My other daughter also had to pay almost $500 to avoid a speeding ticket with points. It is all about the money most of the time. The only warning here is that NJ probably has about 800 different municipal courts and not all prosecutors and judges work the same. The majority do it the way described above, but there are some judges that play by a different set of rules. Try to talk to someone with specific experience about the court you will be in to know what to anticipate. If you can't find someone to talk to, maybe go in on your own before your court appearance to see how they work it.

I don't do my own plumbing, electric or Legal work. And for the same reason results may vary. Some courts work the way outlined some don't , when I was there for mine they did not allow anyone to talk to prosecutor except council. Also if you consider your time to have value those w/ laywer went first those with out were makeing a day of it.

i did hire a lawyer at one time, because i didn't have time to go to the court during the day. this is what happend: 1. i found out that i still need to show up in the court myself. 2. my lawyer was 4 hours late. so i had wait for him from 8:30AM to 1PM. 3. he finally showed up. court clerk already gone. 4. thank god he knows the judge, so he made the deal (the same moving violation deal i could get 4 hours ago myself) with the judge, he will come next week to finish the paperwork with court clerk, and i don't have to come again. and this lawyer costed me $400.

I do SOME of my own plumbing, electric and legal work! Depends on the job. This "job" is very simple, and doesn't need a lawyer if you have a clean driving record, and half a brain, IMHO, of course.

if you want to avoid points, go in and make a deal with the prosecutor, usually that you have a clean record, etc., and he will typically accept your plea and reduce the charge to a no-point careless driving charge. he will want to do this typically to avoid having to try the case and putting the cop on the stand, etc, etc. then you and the prosecutor put that on the record before the court. warning, in NJ, you will be there for a while. as for insurance, i always found that it didn't matter if you get points, any violation shows up (in renewal situations) and, regardless of the points, there's a escalating scale of violations relative to attributed risk and therefore higher premimum. that all being said, dunno if it's ever worth to waste a day in municipal court to reduce the number of points. also dunno if this varies by insurance company. as always, you should always consult with any attorney to obtain accurate and sound advice that takes into consideration your particular circumstances.

1) Check "Not Guilty - Request hearing" and send the ticket back in. Hiring an attorney, makes things go smoother and saves you from actually showing up on your hearing date. It can still be done without an attorney but prosecutors show a certain professional courtesy to counsel. If you do hire counsel, hire an attorney who handles many traffic cases in that court. Here's how to do it "pro se". The objective is not to get an acquittal, but to plea to a no points violation, pay a fine and get out of there. 2) Call clerk at the court and find out your hearing date and the name of the municipal prosecutor that day. 3) Arrive at the court plenty early and go speak to the prosecutor. Wear a jacket and tie. Without admitting anything or talking about the facts of the case, explain your clean prior history and ask if he/she would be willing to accept a plea to "Unsafe Operation of of Motor Vehicle" N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.2. It will cost between $300-450 but carry no points. The fine will likely be more than the original ticket, but no points. 4) If the plea is accepted, wait until your case is called before the judge. You will have to admit to unsafe operation of a motor vehicle and pay the fine and that will be that. 5) If the prosecutor won't accept it or is only willing to plea to a 1 point reduction, you can either accept the reduced plea or plea to the original offence, pay your fine and go home, or you can request a continuance to hire counsel. Unless you are an attorney and know what you are doing I would not recommend trying the case before the judge, it won't be pretty That whole "Slowing significantly" bit is going to result in a guilty verdict, don't say anything about your conduct. In NJ it is wise to fight every ticket. The insurance rates are already crazy. Also 12 points will result in license revocation. You can use the "Unsafe" plea to escape points 2 times within a 5 year period. The 3rd time within 5 years will result in 4 points. Good luck and welcome to the Garden State, where insurance companies fear to tread.

I do most of my own plumbing, electric, etc. but only when I KNOW it will work correctly. You get one shot at this. I've seen prosecutors that were less than willing to do business. If you pay a lawyer you have donated to the "boy's club" to which he is a card carrying member. It's a guarantee.

So, I had my day in court today.... I did not hire a lawyer - despite the couple of dozen letters I got telling me that I really needed one. I talked to friends and neighbours and they all said it would be a waste of money and indeed they were correct. I called the court in advance and they asked me if I wanted to see the prosecutor. I waited in court for about 30mins this morning before he called me, asked me what I wanted, I said a fine, he said "we can do that" and after 60 seconds in front of the judge pleading guilty to a downgraded "obstructing traffic" and $89 dollars into the township coffers, I was on my way. Thanks for everyones advice on this thread.

Congratulations! i was wondering only yesterday how this was going. So this will not show up on your insurance as a moving violation?

Glad it worked out for you. The "just a fine" penalty does ot surprise me. The money is all they really wanted (IMHO).

Why the hell would anyone advice you to get a lawyer for such a minor infractions?

Be aware that any court appearance (at least in NY) has court costs attached to what ever the fine is. In Nassau County there is automatic plea bargening (read reduction) if you go to court.