Do I Need a Lawyer for a Traffic Matter?

What Can a Lawyer do for a Traffic Offense?

If you get a speeding ticket, or are stopped for reckless driving or another moving violation by a North Carolina Highway Patrol officer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer or other law enforcement officer, they may talk with you about how to handle your ticket. However, this is not the person you should be listening to. An attorney who is in YOUR corner and knows what options are available under North Carolina law will give you information that is accurate and in your best interests

Take advice from your lawyer, not from the police! Call 704-376-9376 or e-mail our Charlotte law firm for a free consultation.

Bad advice from Police officers

The most common advice you will get from an officer is how to pay the ticket. If you do this, you are pleading guilty to a traffic offense, saving the officer the trouble of coming to traffic court to testify and paying a fine to state at the same time. You are also giving up your right to have a lawyer make an explanation on your behalf, or request that the charges against you be dismissed or reduced.

Do not take legal advice from a police officer. When writing a traffic ticket an officer may give legal advice, advice that should come from your lawyer. The officer may, with all good intentions, give you bad advice. An attorney will see that you take advantage of all options and may be able to preserve your drivers' license status and keep your insurance rates from rising.

Your traffic offense attorney works for you, not for the court. A police or highway patrol officer works with the district attorney and they have common goals. You need an advocate, someone with only your interest in mind.

A PJC (Prayer for Judgment Continued) or the “Driving School” is an option available for a motorist, but it may not be your best option.

The "Driving School" and/or a "PJC" are rarely worthwhile options for a first - or even second-time offender. Many traffic tickets can be handled in a way that does not require you to spend hours at a Traffic School. Even if you go to the Driving School and get a Prayer for Judgment Continued (PJC), your insurance company may still increase your premiums, even if you have a clean Drivers License Record.

Attorney Chris Connelly represents clients in cases involving a variety of traffic offenses, including the following:

Speeding
Reckless Driving (defined as “carelessly and heedlessly in willful or wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others” or “without due caution and circumspection and at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property”)
Speeding to elude law enforcement
Illegal passing
Passing a stopped school bus
Drag racing/highway racing
Hit and run/leaving the scene of an accident

Related information:

Some people will tell you that your case cannot be won. That's because they don't try. Call 704-376-9376 or e-mail our Charlotte office to schedule a free consultation about defense of your traffic offense.

The Law Office of Christopher A. Connelly
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Criminal Defense Attorney

Free Consultations ▪ Credit Cards Accepted ▪ Se habla español

Near jail and court