My 20-year-old son was cited for reckless driving when he swerved to avoid another driver entering his lane when making a left turn at an intersection. The cop didn't see the whole incident since he was several cars back in a crowded 4-lane road and assumed my son was entirely at fault. My son is an honest kid and I believe his account. He has two prior speeding tickets (10-15 mph over speed limit on local highways). He's a delivery driver and plans to return to college next year, so he really can't afford to have his license suspended, which could happen if he's convicted of reckless driving.

My question: Is it worth the money to hire a lawyer to represent him? What would a lawyer do that would help him avoid a suspended license? Or would it be better for him to present his case himself?

 YES.

If he can't afford the penalty then absolutely hire a lawyer to work the system.

If he's already had two speeding tickets. I would say he probably is not giving you the entire story.
If he cannot afford to risk losing his license pony up for a lawyer and have him pay you back.

Definitely the kind of situation where one wants a lawyer to defend a traffic violation.

Three tickets at 20 years old... I think your son drives irresponsibly, but perhaps your courthouse has a form of traffic school or defensive driving in lieu of a criminal traffic conviction.

Red- How do you know...? Did you talk to the officer?

Green- Of course you do, you're his father.

Blue- Really?  How interesting.

Orange- Maybe he should have thought about that after speeding ticket #1.

Now that's out of the way... can't hurt to hire a lawyer.

That's your decision. And it's based on how much you believe your son.

Maybe get it knocked down, or at least decide what your options are.

LOL.

It seems something has been omitted.

You mean to say.... your son swerved to avoid another vehicle and was written for reckless driving? The officer saw something that made him believe your son was guilty of endangering someone with his vehicle. You should absolutely not hire an attorney. Your son should sell his XBOX and baseball card collection and absolutely hire an attorney for himself.

He is 20 years old, it is time he experienced that this driving record comes with great responsibility; that taking actions giving police officers cause to write such a citation is very expensive.

your son is an adult.   if he already has two speeding tickets he should be driving like he has a case of bald eagle eggs in his lap.  all the time, every time.


IMHO, he is going to get crushed if he presents his case by himself; he doesn't know formal procedure, doesn't know the keywords, doesn't know how to prepare, doesn't know the folks involved, doesn't know how to wheel and deal, doesn't know diddly.  your son should be aiming for a "traffic court plea bargain" -- and that should have already started because he already signed himself up with a state-certified "safe driving" course, right?  right?  thus, when he goes in front of the judge, with his lawyer, he can demonstrate already-in-progress, proactive steps towards righting his prior wrongs.  then, his lawyer can work out some kind of deal which results in fewer moving violation points and more money, which is basically what the court is interested in anyway.   no license suspension, but more out of pocket -- play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

traffic court is only half the equation, as you know.  his (your?) insurance company is going to rape him with a hot fire poker.  unless, of course, they drop him.  in which case he is really going to have a hard time reacquiring insurance.  


is he driving from them via a regular motor vehicle license or a CDL?

ar-jedi

Get a lawyer



by the time I was 18 I totaled 3 cars, and got two speeding tickets



The only thing that saved me was the lawyer I mowed grass for.



He saved my ass every time, only catch was I don't think he ever paid me to mow his yard, rake leaves etc



Stupidity comes at a price, if he cant afford the fee's he gets a side job, sells his Xbox/smart phone etc.



Help him out, but make his decisions really painful, compliance through pain is my moto.



Free

As an attorney who has been on both sides of this situation.  Before law school I hired an attorney to represent me for a traffic violation.  At the time I felt like he did nothing, he showed up said hi to the judge, joked around and they offered me a plea.  I asked myself "what the hell did this guy do?"  The reality of the situation is that while it may have been easy for him he did a lot.  He knew the judge and I'm sure he knew the law if he needed to use it.  It made a difference.

Hire a local attorney that does a lot of work in that court, preferably someone who has worked or interned in the local courts.  

I don't do traffic court often...I typically only do it for my friends or family.  As it turns out I happen to know the prosecutor in my neighboring county where my it seems all my friends and family get tickets.  This is exactly what happens when I show up, I see the prosecutor and say "Hey Bob, how's the family?  How is everything?  What have you been up to lately?"  and then Bob tells me that he really can't throw the ticket out but he will give me the best possible plea deal he can...We don't talk about the law, we don't talk about my client...

If that friend or family member of mine went to court would they personally know Bob... No.  Would they get the same plea deal that I got? No.

Yes, get a lawyer.  In my dumber years, I received a speeding ticket at a time when I couldn't afford anymore.  I hired a lawyer off of the phone book since this happened in another state (upstate NY, it could have been Aimless for all I know).  For $300, he converted my speeding ticket into three non-moving violations.  The state still got their money via the three non-moving violations, and I got to keep my license.  Get a lawyer.

Yes. Reckless bumps it up from an infraction to a misdemeanor.  Actually an arrestable offense if the officer chooses.  Usually not given lightly.  At least in KS.

go to court and lawyer up

Same in MI. Reckless is a misdemeaner, and 6 points on your license (7 points is suspension, 12 points is revocation; speeding tickets are 1 point per 5MPH over limit). Careless is a civil infraction and 3 points.

Whether you hire a lawyer or not is up to you. I would, but that's me. I had a friend (24 years old) represent himself this month on a carelss driving ticket he got for doing a wheelie on his motorcycle down a 6-lane, 55MPH road. He ended up with an impeding traffic civil infration and about 1.5 times the fine he would've paid on the careless.

Honestly, the courts don't really care about your driving record. They can always see what tickets were plead to what, even though the lower ticket will be all that the DMV and insurance sees. The court is more interested in seeing the money come to them rather than you paying higher insurance rates to someone else.

I will say that connections are what gets you places. 4 months after getting my license when I was 16, I rear ended someone. I didn't get any tickets because the officer that showed up played basketball in the police league with my basketball coach (who was also an officer). I also was stopped 3 times for speeding before I was 21. One time I didn't receive a ticket because the officer was a fan of my high school and I was wearing a varsity jacket. The two other times, I had a lawyer (my mom's hospital offered legal services sort of like health insurance, she paid $15/month for legal services anytime she needed them) and he got my ticket dropped to impeding traffic.

Were you there?

Oregon- Reckless driving is class A misdemeanor.  go request a copy of the arrest report to find out the details on what he did from LE point of view.  unlikely it was a simple swerve.  since it is a crime get an attorney for sure.  

for context on what is generally charged as reckless, this week I had a reckless plead out instead of go to trial.  that driver was going 104 mph in 60 zone, passing multiple vehs on the right, etc- with kid in car.  Different driver this week charged with reckless was duii and hit two other cars, and was swerving into oncoming traffic.......