What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
New York
Hi guys,
About two years ago I had my first ticket when I was late for a college class and was pulled over for going somewhere in the 60s in a 40mph area. I was terrified and after speaking with a classmate he suggested an attorney to me. The attorney charged a flat fee of $390.00 and explained that while they almost never lose, there is a very small possibility. Of course never having been in a situation like this I immediately accepted and went on with my life. About a month after that, I was stuck in huge traffic on my way home, we weren't even moving and as I took out my phone to dial a number (I have bluetooth in my car) immediately a cop jumped out of the bushes and pulled me over. This time I got extremely angry and told the cop that "it was bull****!" Obviously he had to be an ******* and take advantage of his privileges, so he decided to give me a ticket for a bike rack I had claiming that it was obstructing my number plates (even though it clearly wasn't) in addition to the cell phone ticket. About a month after that I was driving home and as they say: "when it rains it pours!". Again I get pulled over on my way home by some cop camping under a tree. He claimed that I was going 50 mph in a 35 mph area and was too close to the guy in front of me. I tried to stay calm because I didn't want my last situation to repeat itself again and he said he'll give me a break, giving me a ticket just for the speeding (Yay! He did me a huge favor...). I immediately ran to another lawyer that my friend suggested and handed her these tickets to fight as well. This one charges 200$ per ticket, but said that she takes half of that as a deposit for each. So they've been moving court dates for almost two years now and I almost forgot about all those tickets, thinking it was over with. Finally, the first lawyer called me to tell me that I had to pay another 40$ to reschedule the court which I agreed to pay immediately. He called me back after the court to tell me that he failed and that I had to pay the ticket anyway. Whatever... That's about 600$ down the drain all together. Now I get something called a driver responsibility assessment claiming that they want to jerk off another 300$ from my wallet just because they can... So my question was, would it be smarter to pay the DRA all in one shot or split it into three payments of 100$/year? I really don't have extra money right now, but if it will extinguish my debt so at least when the other tickets process I won't have to pay even more counting after the 6 points I already paid I would be able to find the money. If it is all the same I would rather pay the minimum 100$/year. Now I called my second lawyer to find out about my other two tickets and she told me that she will take the 200$ that I put down for both of them towards only the speeding ticket and if I wanted her to go to court with the cell phone/bike rack ticket she wants another 200$. I don't have unlimited funds to be paying them for nothing, so I am starting to consider just going to court myself about this one. Do you guys think it is even possible for me to win? I have a medical condition and can provide paperwork in court about it, any advice would be appreciated.
Nowadays, I have to drive like a turtle because I realize my license is hanging on to a hair and am always extremely paranoid, to the point that I stop concentrating on the road every time I see a cop because I think he is about to be on my ass about something else. I know this is long, but it's a tough situation to be in and I know nothing about the law besides that it's a whole lot of money to be paying for "something that could have happened". So please guys, if anyone of you has been in a similar situation let me know what I should do.
Thanks!
New York
Hi guys,
About two years ago I had my first ticket when I was late for a college class and was pulled over for going somewhere in the 60s in a 40mph area. I was terrified and after speaking with a classmate he suggested an attorney to me. The attorney charged a flat fee of $390.00 and explained that while they almost never lose, there is a very small possibility. Of course never having been in a situation like this I immediately accepted and went on with my life. About a month after that, I was stuck in huge traffic on my way home, we weren't even moving and as I took out my phone to dial a number (I have bluetooth in my car) immediately a cop jumped out of the bushes and pulled me over. This time I got extremely angry and told the cop that "it was bull****!" Obviously he had to be an ******* and take advantage of his privileges, so he decided to give me a ticket for a bike rack I had claiming that it was obstructing my number plates (even though it clearly wasn't) in addition to the cell phone ticket. About a month after that I was driving home and as they say: "when it rains it pours!". Again I get pulled over on my way home by some cop camping under a tree. He claimed that I was going 50 mph in a 35 mph area and was too close to the guy in front of me. I tried to stay calm because I didn't want my last situation to repeat itself again and he said he'll give me a break, giving me a ticket just for the speeding (Yay! He did me a huge favor...). I immediately ran to another lawyer that my friend suggested and handed her these tickets to fight as well. This one charges 200$ per ticket, but said that she takes half of that as a deposit for each. So they've been moving court dates for almost two years now and I almost forgot about all those tickets, thinking it was over with. Finally, the first lawyer called me to tell me that I had to pay another 40$ to reschedule the court which I agreed to pay immediately. He called me back after the court to tell me that he failed and that I had to pay the ticket anyway. Whatever... That's about 600$ down the drain all together. Now I get something called a driver responsibility assessment claiming that they want to jerk off another 300$ from my wallet just because they can... So my question was, would it be smarter to pay the DRA all in one shot or split it into three payments of 100$/year? I really don't have extra money right now, but if it will extinguish my debt so at least when the other tickets process I won't have to pay even more counting after the 6 points I already paid I would be able to find the money. If it is all the same I would rather pay the minimum 100$/year. Now I called my second lawyer to find out about my other two tickets and she told me that she will take the 200$ that I put down for both of them towards only the speeding ticket and if I wanted her to go to court with the cell phone/bike rack ticket she wants another 200$. I don't have unlimited funds to be paying them for nothing, so I am starting to consider just going to court myself about this one. Do you guys think it is even possible for me to win? I have a medical condition and can provide paperwork in court about it, any advice would be appreciated.
Nowadays, I have to drive like a turtle because I realize my license is hanging on to a hair and am always extremely paranoid, to the point that I stop concentrating on the road every time I see a cop because I think he is about to be on my ass about something else. I know this is long, but it's a tough situation to be in and I know nothing about the law besides that it's a whole lot of money to be paying for "something that could have happened". So please guys, if anyone of you has been in a similar situation let me know what I should do.
Thanks!
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