3 Tickets at the same time

[Johnyboy86]

State: New Jersey
Violation: Reckless Driving
Unsafe Lane Change
Driving Slow Speed / Impede Traffic

Defendant: Alex Strowzski - age 44 (no previous driving record or violations in the past 5 years)

Hello,

My cousin who lives in Detroit and has Michigan drivers license, came down to South New Jersey for the funeral of his brother who had suddenly died of having a stroke. He is currently staying at my house.
Going through a difficult time, around 9:30PM he wanted to go to the liquor store, so i told him that he can use my car, because i have blocked him in the driveway when i got back home from work.

Anyway, after leaving liquor store my cousin almost got hit on the parking lot by another car. He saw the guy almost backed up straight in him. So he hit the horn and yelled through the window to the people in the car to Stop! And what the other guy did, he rolled down the window and told Alex to lay off and showed him a finger. So my cousin yelled back at him, and that man spit in my cousins face and took off. So he tried to follow this guy and he cut him off few times because he was emotionally upset and angry, but sadly there was a police officer driving behind and he got the entire situation wrong! He pulled my cousin over and was very rude at him, my cousin tried to tell him the story but he would not listen to him at all! Cherry Hill cops are very rude in our area. Plus my cousin has very strong polish accent and some people might not understand him...

Anyway, he got back home yesterday, his hands were all shaking and he looked very tired and beat down... today is the funeral of his brother, so i haven't had chance to talk to him about this issue, but i feel really bad for him and i would like to find out what i can do to help him in this situation?

Question:

- On all of the 3 tickets Court Appearance is Required and it is scheduled for 10/14/08, but he must go back to Detroit in few days, how can he avoid not going to the court?

- Will the points from NJ transferred onto his MI Drivers License?

Thank you very much for Reading all this and i hope to hear your advice

John,

 

[Hey There]

One Down--Three To Go

John,

According to the websites I've checked Michigan is NOT a member of the Interstate Drivers Licence Compact.A driver with a Michigan Licence wouldn't have points put on his driving record if found guilty of a driving violation in another state.
N.J. can however collect fines on the traffic violation if the driver is found guilty.
Are these the V.C. Alex was cited for?
39:4-96 Reckless driving
A person who drives a vehicle heedlessly, in a willful or wanton disregard of the rights of safety of others
in a manner so as to endanger or likely to endanger person or property.

39:4-97.1 Slow speed blocking traffic

? Unsafe Lane Change

Some lawyers will give a one time consultation or for a modest fee
($50.00?) advise the driver of his options.A listing can be found in the Yellow pages of the phone book or possibly an internet search.
Google:How to choose a lawyer


Burlington NJ USA Official FAQ / Q & A - Municipal Courtwebsite has rules for Muni Court. which should apply to other muni courts in N.J.
Google:N.J. Court Rules for traffic violations
and scroll down on the first page to access this website.
A court clerk MAY be able to give the amount each fine is for the violations Alex is charged with if found guilty.

A library may have a book published by NOLO on the information you seek.

Good Luck on This,
Best Regards,
Hey There

 

[Johnyboy86]

Thank you for your reply,

Is it possible that he can just go down to the court before the shceduled date and talk to the prosecutor and explain him that it is his first violation and if there is an alternative that he can provide us with? Because i am really not familiar with all of this court procedures because i never got a single ticket in my life, so as my cousin?

Thank you,
John

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: Is it possible that he can just go down to the court before the shceduled date and talk to the prosecutor and explain him that it is his first violation and if there is an alternative that he can provide us with?

A: Of course anything is possible and he should ask. However, be aware that traffic prosecutors are overburdened and harried and may just tell him to wait for his court date.




Q: Because i am really not familiar with all of this court procedures because i never got a single ticket in my life, so as my cousin?

A: I do not understand the question.

 

[Johnyboy86]

Sorry, the last line wasn't the question.

Statue Numbers:

39:4-96
39:4-88B
39:4-97.1

I am currently looking for a lawyer that would help solve this issue. Meanwhile, a lot of my friends have told me that the best thing he can do is to go to the court, plead guilty and pay the fines, because the points would still not transfer onto his license.

Can you guys please sugest me any other options?

EDIT: I just found this link and it states that points from New Jersey does tranfer to Michigan Drivers license? Is this true? Seems like reliable source

http://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content14937.aspx

Thanks you very much,
John

 

[Hey There]

Information To Help Decide What To Do

John,

39:4-96 Reckless driving
A person who drives a vehicle heedlessly, in a willful or wanton disregard of the rights of safety of others
in a manner so as to endanger or likely to endanger person or property.
39:4-96 Reckless driving First offense: Fine or imprisonment not exceeding 60 days, or both $50 $200

39:4-88B. A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from that lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety.
39:4-88 Failure to drive properly in marked lanes 39:4-203 Fine or imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both $50 $200

39:4-97.1 Slow speed so as to impede or block traffic
3:4-97 Careless driving 39:4-104 Fine or imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both $50 $200

Alex needs to know all his options.
The minimum fine for all three if he pleads guilty
or is found guilty would be $150.00
The maximum would be $600.00
Jail time couldn't
exceed 90 days.T(60 days +15 days +15 days).This doesn't mean necessarily that ANY jail time would be involved, only that the stiffest sentence for all three would be 90 days.

A prosecutor is a prosecutor and a lawyer would be better
suited to plea bargain with the prosecutor than a person who has had no experience with this.
Alex always has the option of a NOT Guilty plea and if this is his
intent a lawyer should be able to advise him.
As a start every driver cited for a traffic infraction needs to read the violation he was cited for carefully. An Eample of 39-4-96
Reckless driving entails other drivers being endangered. Was there a shreiking of brakes, horns sounded, swerving by other drivers to avoid gettin hit? Or were other drivers not affected?

Good Luck on This,
Best Regards,
Hey There