Need good lawyer for BAD speeding ticket on Palisades

Maya

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 4:53 pm

amother wrote:

Got a really bad ticket. 20+ over posted speed limit and up to 6 points. Know a local lawyer that can help?

I've been spending lots of time lately watching proceedings in traffic court, and I don't understand why these lawyers are needed, other than for the people who can't make it to court themselves on the expected date.

Every person gets to conference with the prosecutor and get a plea. It doesn't seem to me that they give better deals to the lawyers than they do to the people who come themselves. You will still likely have to pay $3-400 either way, but if you go yourself you can avoid the extra few hundred dollars of the lawyer's fees.

Does anyone know whether or not I am wrong?

Anyway, there's Matisyahu Wolfberg in Monsey who is pretty popular.

amother

Fuchsia

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 6:24 pm

It's way out of my way to show up myself. More than an hour each way. If lawyer could take care of it instead of me and knock off points it would be great
Thanks

nywife

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 6:38 pm

I got a ticket there for doing 75. I ended up going to traffic court and getting it reduced to parking on pavement. It was something like $300 but no points.

ohmygosh

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 6:54 pm

I agree with Maya. Will add that sometimes the judges get annoyed that the person who committes the offense doesn't find it important enough to make the effort to come to their courtroom and then will be more strict in their deciding on the matter. So it may be worth it to take the trip.

sunshine5

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 7:06 pm

We had great experience with h Ben Kelsem 201.837.0364.
Very connected and honest attorney. My dh just got a moving violation he spoke to him today he guided him exactly how to proceed without a fee. Hes very popular for being a great attorney. (before calling Ben Kelsem my dh tried someone else and that one wanted to go straight to court and charge $500 buks.)
Good luck.

Maya

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 7:09 pm

sunshine5 wrote:

So I imagine he doesn't actually go to court to plea for you, just advises you how to do it on your own?

sunshine5

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 7:17 pm

Maya wrote:

So I imagine he doesn't actually go to court to plea for you, just advaises you how to do it on your own?

He does go down to court. But in our case he was honest and told us how to proceed on our own without the hassle and of court and paying attorneys fees.

tryinghard

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 7:21 pm

Just FYI, you may get lucky if you live in NY and you were on the NJ part of the Palisades - that particular court doesn't "communicate" with NY, so you won't get points on your license. Of course this is a very specific case, but putting it out there.

rockingbells

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 7:38 pm

Got 20+ over the limit and reckless endangerment.
Went 1hr+ out of my way to go to Palisades traffic court and was worth it. Prosecutor took away the reckless endangerment and lowered the number of miles over the speed limit. No points and a fraction of the fine we expected. Main expense was the processing fees. It is kind of ridiculous how it works there. I recommend trying to make your court date, and don't be afraid of your ticket.

Amarante

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 7:42 pm

There are handbooks on how to deal with tickets. Better to spend $10 on a book that will give you a I the same as information as the attorney. His is really not high level stuff but you just need to understand how the system w Red. Probably there are even f Rums and websites with that kind of information

amother

Seagreen

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 9:06 pm

As an attorney who does not practice traffic law, I would certainly retain an attorney to defend me if I were trying to avoid getting points, or increase in insurance rates.

I know enough to know what I don't know.

Also, hate to say this, but sometimes it's worth it to have an attorney who may be known to the judges.

Maya

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 9:10 pm

amother wrote:

Interesting. From what I've seen, if you're gonna have an attorney it's worth to have one who knows the prosecutor; the judge doesn't seem to say much besides to ask how you plead. It's the prosecutor who makes the deals.

Have you ever spent time in traffic court?

amother

Purple

Thu, Mar 17 2016, 10:41 pm

sunshine5 wrote:

I also used Ben Kelsen. Definitely a mensch. He came to court with me and I paid a reduced fee and he got the points taken away.

amother

Olive

Fri, Mar 18 2016, 7:19 am

Pardon my ignorance, but why is it that when it comes to other people breaking the law and getting caught, everyone is so quick to say "Good for them. Dina D'Malchusa Dina", yet when you break the law and endanger other peoples lives by speeding tremendously, we talk about how to get out of paying for it? (There are definitely some of the same posters involved in this conversation as the other ones.)

Last edited by amother on Wed, Mar 13 2019, 2:21 pm; edited 1 time in total

groisamomma

Fri, Mar 18 2016, 7:29 am

Maya wrote:

This has been my experience as well. Unfortunately I spend a bit too much time in traffic court and face recognition with the prosecutor certainly doesn't hurt but I haven't seen anything change with people that know the judge unless they have been there too many times and he is yelling at them.

And I agree wholeheartedly with world's best mom. Somehow regular crime disgusts me but when it comes to driving violations I somehow find a way to rationalize it even when the reality is that it can potentially be more dangerous. This is one of the areas in which I struggle with practicing what I preach.

geulah papyrus

Fri, Mar 18 2016, 8:53 am

This whole post makes me crazy. Whenever I'm on the Palisades going the posted limit and people pass me and shoot ahead, I always wonder when I'm going to end up the victim of a horrible traffic accident because someone was driving recklessly. Whatever the outcome of your ticket, OP, please drive safely.

amother

Amethyst

Fri, Mar 18 2016, 9:30 am

Gary Lipton was our shaliach when we were in big trouble. We ended up with a fine and no points. He came recommended by an organization that helps people with referrals for lawyers etc. Can't remember the organization's name right now.

amother

Olive

Fri, Mar 18 2016, 9:35 am

Maya wrote:

Just to be clear, I'm not spending time in traffic court as an offender.

Yet I haven't heard anyone say that OP deserves to pay for her speeding. I've only seen helpful advice in getting out of it.

Last edited by amother on Wed, Mar 13 2019, 2:22 pm; edited 1 time in total