Speeding Ticket Defense Lawyer in Charleston, SC
Speeding tickets can result in points taken from your license, higher insurance premiums, license suspension, and even license revocation for accumulated offenses.
Why get a speeding ticket attorney to help?
Because, in most cases, your speeding ticket lawyer can prevent the increased insurance premiums and accumulation of points on your license – making it less expensive to hire an attorney than it would have been to just pay the fine.
But, I Wasn’t Speeding!
It may be difficult to get the officer to agree, but there are defenses that we can raise to allegations of speeding.
Radar is not perfect, and it is possible that:
- The radar equipment was not properly calibrated;
- The reading came from another car that was driving faster than yours;
- Other objects like a large truck or other vehicle caused interference; or
- The officer did not use radar and instead “estimated” your speed.
When appropriate, we can request the records for the officer’s certification on the radar gun, the maintenance records for the equipment, the video from the officer’s dashcam or bodycam, and other evidence that may help us to challenge the speeding ticket.
When You Can’t Afford a Speeding Ticket No Matter What
Although in many cases our client’s goal is to have a ticket rewritten to preserve their license or insurance, there are times when nothing is acceptable other than a dismissal or trial. For example, when:
- You weren’t speeding;
- You have a commercial driver’s license (CDL); or
- Your job depends on not having a traffic violation.
In these situations, we cannot rely on a rewrite to a non-moving violation or other resolution – we prepare for trial, ask the court and officer to dismiss, and, if they do not, try the case to a jury.
Do I Have to Go to a Jury Trial?
Most speeding tickets do not go to jury trial, although many will get resolved minutes before picking a jury…
In most cases, we will request a jury trial as soon as we open your file – this gives us the time that we need to request any evidence there may be in your case and to negotiate with the officer or prosecutor.
If the case is not resolved at or before the roster meeting, we set a jury trial date. If the case is not resolved the morning of the jury trial date, we can argue any grounds to dismiss to the judge. If the judge does not dismiss the case, we still have a jury to fall back on when necessary.
SC Speeding Ticket Defense Attorney in SC
If you got a speeding ticket in the Charleston, SC area, you don’t have much time before your initial court date. Call SC traffic offense lawyer Grant B. Smaldone immediately after you get the ticket – before your initial court date – at (843) 808-2100 or fill out our online contact form to set up a free consultation about your case.