If you are in a wreck and the investigating officer thinks it was your fault, you might get a ticket. Typically it will be for failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident, or failing to yield the right of way, or failing to stop at a duly erected stop sign or red light. Usually the DA’s office will dismiss these tickets if you present a letter from your insurance company stating it has paid for the injuries or damages to the other person or their car. A letter simply stating that you have insurance or that the claim is being investigated is not enough. It must list you as the insured driver, the date of the accident, and it must state that the damages actually have been paid. Sometimes, it takes several months for your insurance company to settle these claims. In those cases, you (or I, if I am representing you) may have to get your case continued (postponed) one or more times while we wait for the letter.

Whole books have been written about driving while impaired (also known as DWI or DUI). I will be brief here and say that if you are found guilty (or plead guilty) you could face anything from a fine, court costs and community service all the way to two or more years in prison, depending on your circumstances. If you retain me, my job is two-fold. First, I will interview you and look at other evidence to see what might be your chances of being acquitted. Second, I will help you prepare for the sentencing hearing, where a judge decides whether you get a relatively minor penalty or something more serious. There are things we can do ahead of time to increase the chances that you will get a less serious penalty. Please give me a call at  (919) 683-2175  to discuss your pending DWI and to get answers to questions you may have. I am here to help.

Now and then potential clients tell me they got a ticket for not wearing their seat belt and they wonder if there is anything I can do for them. Unfortunately, I almost always say no. Why? First, by statute, conviction of a seat belt violation does not cause one’s insurance to go up nor does it result in any driver’s license points. N.C.G.S. Section 135-2A(f) . That’s what most folks are interested in, so there is nothing that we’d have to “reduce it to” to keep their insurance from going up. Second, I have observed over the course of 30+ years of practicing law that when people plead not guilty to seat belt charges, they are almost always found guilty. In fact, as I sit here writing this, I cannot remember the last time I saw a judge find someone not guilty in a seat belt case. I have seen many people found not guilty of more serious cases, such as DWI, but not seat belt violations. About the only way I can get a seat belt charge dismissed is if the person is charged with something in addition to the seat belt charge. In such a case, the D.A.’s office will sometimes dismiss the seat belt charge if the client will plead guilty to the other charge.

People often ask, “How many points will I get for this?” First, you need to know that there are two point systems: Driver’s License Points and Insurance Points. Driver’s License Points License points result from moving violations (such as running a stop sign, speeding, etc.) Many people are worried about getting driver’s license points. However, because most minor tickets only carry two or three license points, and you have to get twelve license points to have your license suspended, most people don’t need to be so concerned about them. (On the other hand, if you have a knack for getting tickets, you might want to remember that 12 driver’s license points will get your license suspended!) Insurance Points Insurance points are another matter. Just one insurance point will cause your rates to increase 30% for three years (So much for the money you saved by changing insurance companies). Four points, which would result from a conviction of driving 76 mph in a 65 mph zone, would result in a 80% increase for three years. The charging of higher rates for people with traffic convictions is part of North Carolina’s Safe Driver Incentive Plan. Go to this chart and scroll down — it only looks upside down — to see how many insurance points apply to each type of conviction and the resulting insurance rate increase. . Depending on your prior record, and what you’re charged with, there are several ways that to keep your insurance rates from increasing as much, or at all. I have explained some of those methods, such as prayer for judgment continued, nine over, and improper equipment, in other posts. There are other options as well. Concerned that a ticket is going to cause your insurance rates to skyrocket? Call me now at  (919) 683-2175  for a free consultation.

Sometimes people call and say that five or six (or ten!) years ago they got a ticket in Raleigh, Durham or Chapel Hill. They say they hired a lawyer to take care of it. Now they are unable to renew their license because of the ticket they thought the lawyer they had hired all those years ago had resolved it. They then hire me to reopen the case and take care of it. How might we might prevent these problems? Help Head Off a Problem Even though lawyers are expected to represent their clients competently and reliably, Rule 1 is that it is still your case . Please don’t hire a lawyer and then forget about it. Follow up. Let’s take the example of a traffic case like the one above. After your court date give your lawyer a day or two to contact you with the results, but if you don’t hear from them within three or four days, call or email your lawyer . If it turns your your lawyer missed the court date, it’s easy to fix the problem so early in the process. Most lawyers are glad for such follow-up. It helps prevent a minor mistake like a missed court date from snowballing into something much more serious, like a license revocation (a consequence that will leave the lawyer scrambling to clean up). This advice is similar to what many medical groups advise to avoid medical errors. I once read an article by Debra Wood, RN of Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center that urged patients to not just let things be done to them, but to take an active role to make sure they are getting the right medicines and procedures. “How can you avoid a medical mistake? ‘Patients are the center of the health care team,’ says Cathy Barry-Ipema, spokesperson for the Joint Commission . . . . You need to be an active participant. You need to be informed, and if something does not seem right, ask . . . .” That same principle applies to your legal case. Plan B Now suppose you have not followed up and your lawyer has missed your court date. Sticking with our traffic example, several weeks after your missed court date, you get a letter from DMV saying that you missed your court date and that if you don’t take care of the case by such-and-such a date, your license will be revoked. You think, “Hey, I hired a lawyer to resolve that for me!” What should you do? Call (or email) your lawyer now!! Here’s a suggested script: “Good morning, Ms. Florrick,* I got a letter from DMV today saying that my license is scheduled for revocation because I didn’t go to court last month. If I’m not mistaken, that’s the case I hired you for. Would you check on that for me? Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.” When attorney Florrick hears that message, she’s going to go into high gear to straighten this out before the suspension date listed in your DMV letter. And because you called her as soon as you discovered her mistake, it may be possible to correct this without incurring late fees or other penalties. Even if you find it hard to deliver such a civil phone message as the one I described above (i.e., your phone message is more like, “Ms. Florrick!! I hired you to take care of that case for me, and DMV now says you didn’t. What kind of sloppy operation are you running?“) it’s still better to call your lawyer than to just ignore the problem. Why? Remember Rule 1. And believe it or not, Lawyer Florrick would rather hear from you, whether or not your message is polite, than for her mistake to snowball and cause a missed court date to become a suspended driver’s license. Kjd ______________ *The names used in this post are totally random and have no connection to any person, real or fictional!!

In another post I wrote about folks who had found that, when trying to renew their licenses, their renewals were being blocked by old pending tickets here in North Carolina. I wrote that the solution to that problem was to have the old cases placed back on the court calendar, and then to take care of them. However, once a driver has taken care of an old case, including paying any court costs and fines, there is one last step to get their name off the “do not license” list: Pay one or more fees to the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. The National Driver’s Registry This is what NC-DMV has told me about “blocked” licenses and restoration fees. ” Most states will not issue a driver license to a person whose driving privilege is not valid in another state.” Hence, the “National Driver Registry (NDR), . . . a nationwide database” that allows the DMV of one state to know whether an applicant may get a license in another state. “If the driver’s North Carolina driving privilege has gone into suspension,” they wrote, “whether licensed in NC or out-of-state, they must pay the applicable restoration fees prior to reinstatement.” (KJD comment: Even of you are licensed in anotherstate, you can have your “privilege” to drive in this state suspended. Then, when you try to renew your license in your home state, you are blocked by the pending ticket in NC.) They also said that, “There are two kinds of restoration fees. The $130* DWI restoration fee is due when the driving privilege is being reinstated after a suspension for driving while impaired. All other suspensions require a $65* restoration fee.” “The other reinstatement fee is the $50 service fee. The service fee is owed if the driver held a NC driver license at the time the suspension went into effect and they did not surrender the license to the Division prior to the suspension.” (KJD comment: NC-DMV sends letters to people they are planning to suspend. The letter says something like “Mail your license to us by such-and-such a date or we will send someone to pick it up.” They charge a $50 service fee to send that person out.) “Obviously, if (a driver) is licensed in another state (the pick-up-license) fee will most likely not be required for them to reinstate their NC driving privilege.” (KJD comment: NC-DMV does not usually physically take the driver’s license of someone who is licensed in another state. Hence, there is no $50 service fee for not turning in the license). Clearance Letters Once NC-DMV takes your name off the NDR, the Divisions of Motor Vehicles of other states can see that online. That can serve as your “clearance letter.” If you think you owe a restoration fee or service fee to NC-DMV, here’s an email link to conact them . You can also call NC-DMV at 919-715-7000. _____________ *Those fee amounts became effective in 2016. Kjd Need help getting your license back because of old tickets? Give me a call at  (919) 683-2175  . Ken Duke

My goal is to charge a fee that anyone with a car and a license can pay. Having said that, the fee varies with the case. For example, the fee would be less for a “basic” ticket (such as 48 mph in a 35 mph zone) than it would for a more serious case. An example of a more serious case would be one in which you might get more than one insurance point or which might suspend your license. The fee also is higher if there is more than one charge arising from the same incident. My fee does not include the court costs or fines. Often, the court costs and fine will be written on the ticket. However, those amounts, especially the fine, may change depending upon how we resolve your case (the amounts written on the ticket assume that you plead guilty as charged). If we get the charges reduced the fine may change. If we use a prayer for judgment continued (PJC), there will be no fine, only the court costs.

Don’t just pay that ticket! Let me try to get it reduced for you, maybe to “improper equipment.” Read below to find out why, and then call me at  (919) 683-2175  . Many District Attorneys will allow a person charged with a speeding ticket or other moving violation to plead responsible to the reduced charge of “improper equipment,” also known as “I.E.” How is this helpful? Improper equipment is not a moving violation. It carries no driver’s license or insurance points. It’s the next best thing to having the case dismissed. When an IE is not available, there may be other ways to keep a driver’s insurance from going up, such as “prayer for judgment continued,” which I have discussed in another post. Finally, some people wonder how it’s right to let someone who is charged with a speeding ticket or improper passing to plead to improper equipment. The simple answer is that it is an act of grace or mercy on the part of the State and of the judge. And who among us does not need a bit or grace or mercy at least a few times in our lives? I know I do! Now, please do the proper thing and call or email me about helping you get an improper equipment!  (919) 683-2175  .

Often, people with tickets wonder if it will help them to go to “traffic school.” Well, it depends. My information is based only on my experience in the North Carolina counties of Wake, Durham, Orange and Chatham. First, as a general matter, it’s certainly not going to hurt you to take a safe driving class. You might learn something that could save your life. And, it’s nice when I can say to the assistant D.A., “And look, here’s her safe-driving-class certificate.” As to whether or not you must take a class, or whether it really may help you legally, that depends on the D.A.’s office in each county. Which Class to Attend? If you don’t have a lawyer I suggest you go to your first court date and ask the assistant D.A. whether he or she wants you to take a class, and ask them which class to take. Your case will be continued (put off) for a month or so to give you time to complete the class and then you can come back with your certificate. If you are represented by a lawyer (for example, me), I will find out which class you need to take and let you know. The Original Certificate Please note that the D.A.s’ offices will only accept the original certificate issued by the school. They do not accept copies. If I am representing you, you can ask the school to send the original directly to me. Have a question about a traffic ticket? Give me a call at  (919) 683-2175  .