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We Can Challenge Your Speeding Ticket in Jacksonville

When you get a speeding ticket, you may be considering just paying the ticket, accepting any other penalties, and moving on. This may not be your best choice. What if the speeding ticket could be successfully defended in court, allowing you to avoid the fines, increased insurance rates, accrual of points, and other issues such as job loss if driving is part of your employment? These can all result from a conviction on a traffic offense.

Many proactive individuals choose to fight speeding tickets in court. A Jacksonville speeding ticket lawyer from Problems? Pick Porter!™ can help. With extensive courtroom experience, our seasoned criminal defense attorneys can defend you in court and present the evidence to support the case for your defense.

How Speeding Tickets Impact Your Driver’s License in Florida

When convicted of speeding, you will receive points on your license. If you accumulate enough points, you may face a suspended license as part of the punishment. You may want to consider defending your case in court and seeking to have your case dismissed, getting your charge reduced, or getting an acquittal in court.

In many cases, when the case actually comes to court, the law enforcement officer involved may have little or no memory of the incident, as they may be issuing many tickets on a daily or weekly basis. A close cross-examination of the law enforcement officers involved can often lead to a dismissed case, as they may remember little to none of the incident upon cross-examination.

When you have received a speeding ticket that was issued due to an SMD (speed measuring device), it is possible to research the actual unit used to determine if it had been properly calibrated, or even if the person who maintains it is aware of the correct procedures to keep the unit in good working condition.

When convicted, a serious speeding ticket or other traffic offense may affect your future employment when a potential employer chooses to run a background check on you before hiring. Especially if the prospective job involves driving for the company, they may easily pass over you and choose another individual merely based on a driving record, as they may consider you to be a risk.

Avoiding a conviction is an important matter. We can help.

Need to fight a traffic ticket? Contact us online or call (904) 858-3211 today to consult a Jacksonville speeding ticket attorney!

What Are Florida’s Speeding Laws and Penalties?

The State of Florida and municipalities set speed limits after considering the roads they are trying to ensure are safe for all motorists and others, such as pedestrians. The speed limit is higher on interstate highways, and lower on two-lane residential roads, and even lower in school zones during school hours.

But speeding is not just defined by how many miles you are driving over the speed limit. You are expected to take weather and road conditions into account, and you could be issued a speeding ticket if you exceed the speed limit in inclement weather or while driving through road work, endangering others. Generally, fines for speeding in Florida are:

  • $25 – $100 fine for driving one to nine mph 1-9 over the limit and points on your driver’s license, which will increase your insurance premium
  • $100 – $250 for driving 10-14 mph over the limit
  • $125 – $300 for driving 15-19 mph over the limit
  • $150 – $500 for driving 20-29 mph over the limit
  • $250 – $1,000 for driving 30 mph or more over the limit, with a risk of license suspension and mandatory court appearance

Charges can escalate from civil to criminal if you speed over 100 mph or more than 50 mph over the posted speed limit. You can spend 30 days in jail and be fined $500 for a first offense, and up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, or both as a repeat offender. You can lose your license for one year if you repeat criminal charges within five years. 

Contact a Jacksonville speeding ticket attorney at Problems? Pick Porter!™ now for more than 100 years of combined experience solving problems just like yours.

The Process of Fighting a Speeding Ticket

If you choose to contest your speeding ticket rather than attend traffic school in Jacksonville, your lawyer will file a request for a court hearing, and you will plead not guilty by notifying the Duval County Clerk of Court. The citation you received specifies the Florida Statute you violated, the officer who issued it, and the speed and location of the civil infraction. Your attorney can note inaccuracies and omissions, and elicit your statement about what happened, if the issuing officer made any comments, and what the weather was like, all part of evidence-gathering. Your attorney can also view evidence the state will use against you, so it can be refuted.

The Clerk’s office will send you a Notice of Hearing, or possibly a notice for a pre-trial hearing to resolve the case without a trial.

Your hearing is presided over by a judge and begins with the testimony of the officer who issued your ticket. Your attorney can cross-examine the officer, and afterwards, present your case. The state must prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and if your attorney introduces doubt, the judge will dismiss the charges. They can also be dismissed if the officer fails to show. If you are found guilty, you will be instructed to pay the original fine plus court costs, and points will be added to your license unless the judge withholds adjudication, which means you are still found guilty, but the judge, after reviewing your record, decides not to formally convict you. You must still pay the original fine, but no points will accrue on your driver’s license.

Our Jacksonville Attorneys Can Help Fight Your Traffic Ticket

For truck drivers, taxi drivers, couriers, and others who drive for a living, conviction on a traffic offense could mean loss of a job or suspension. You always have the option with a traffic ticket to hire a knowledgeable traffic ticket lawyer to fight the charges.

Problems? Pick Porter stands ready to act in your defense against the accusations. There is a great deal at stake in your situation. Traffic tickets can cause even more trouble if you fail to pay them on time, including the possibility of arrest for driving on a suspended license.

You can avoid this embarrassing and stressful situation and further expense by retaining a Jacksonville traffic ticket lawyer with our firm to address the matter of your fines and make financial arrangements on your behalf.

If there is a warrant out for your arrest for traffic-related offenses, or if your license has been suspended because of unpaid speeding tickets, then it is very important to act quickly to avoid being arrested. This is especially important when a speeding violation includes an accident or accident with injury. It becomes a very serious legal problem that demands a skilled traffic ticket attorney in Jacksonville to assist in fighting the charge and help you in seeking to avoid the punishment you could face if convicted.

Contact a Jacksonville speeding ticket attorney from our firm for fast, effective legal representation in traffic and speeding tickets. Call (904) 858-3211 today! Pick Porter!™

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Speeding Tickets in Jacksonville

Will a speeding ticket affect my insurance?

Yes. If you incur even one speeding ticket, when you renew your automobile insurance, you are likely to see an increase in your premiums of between 10 percent and 25 percent.

Can I avoid points by taking a driving course?

Yes. According to the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) you can take an online four-hour course approved in all Florida counties and avoid points on your license and an increase in your auto insurance.

What are my chances of getting a ticket dismissed?

Your chances for getting a ticket dismissed improve with the help of a skilled attorney, although the judge is the ultimate decision-maker, who will consider your driving record, demeanor, number of previous tickets, and the argument your attorney makes for dismissal.