It’s important to take prompt action when you have been issued a traffic citation. Remember that by mailing in a payment for the traffic violation you are admitting guilt and a conviction will be entered into your driving record. We will work hard to minimize possible consequences and provide the best possible representation.
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Whenever receiving any citation, it is important that you remember any statement that you make to the officer issuing the ticket is part of the proceedings. Always be polite, cooperative and honest but do not provide unasked for information. Do not argue with the officer about the validity of the speeding charges even if you feel the charges are in error. A speeding ticket is an allegation of an offense. Contact an experienced speeding ticket attorney as soon as possible to discuss your citation and review the options available to you.
You will be asked to sign your ticket. Signing the back of the speeding ticket does not mean you agree with the ticket but simply acknowledges that you received the ticket. There is no advantage in refusing to sign the ticket.
Traffic tickets are divided into two separate groups in Illinois (excluding parking tickets) - those that require a court appearance and those that do not require an appearance. This information should be clearly stated on your ticket. If a court appearance is required, The box next to "Court Appearance Required" will be checked.
If you received your speeding ticket in Cook, Kane or Will Counties, the court information will be handwritten on the bottom of your ticket. If you received your speeding ticket in DuPage, the court information (time and date) will be sent to you. If your ticket was issued by an Illinois State Police Trooper, the badge number of the trooper who wrote the ticket will also be found in the lower right of the ticket. The top middle section of you ticket should also contain the handwritten Illinois State district in which the alleged violation took place.
If you have received a speeding ticket in Illinois, you are required to respond. If your speeding ticket does not require a court appearance, you may you may choose to pay the fine that is shown on the ticket. Speeding tickets issued in Illinois will indicate the payment methods you can use and the window within which the ticket must be paid. It is important to remember, however, that payment of the fine is an admission of guilt and appears as a speeding conviction on your driving record.
If a court appearance is not required but you wish to challenge the speeding charges, you must communicate your decision to the clerk of the court within the window of time indicated on the ticket. If you are not clear about the required time frame or the process you need to follow, calling the number on the ticket with your questions is important. Courts in Illinois are very serious about the amount of time allowed to respond. Failure to respond within the allotted time means an automatic guilty verdict and a likely suspended license along with the ticket fine and additional late fees.
Illinois has signed an agreement with 45 other states to exchange information concerning traffic violations. The Driver License Compact (DLC) makes sure that information about speeding tickets is received in the driver's home state. This means that an Illinois driver receiving an out of state citation will have the information reported back to Illinois. The only states not participating in this information sharing are: Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Illinois has also signed the Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC). This compact is an attempt to standardize the methods used to punish out-of-state traffic violations. It requires participating states to suspend the driver's license of those drivers cited for a moving violation in another state if the driver does not pay the assessed fine/penalty. This also means that an Illinois driver with an out-of-state speeding conviction will have points added to his/her license according to the Illinois Point Schedule. Any out-of-state conviction for speeding can have long and short term consequences. It is important to talk to an experienced speeding ticket attorney to understand how your driving privileges might be impacted by an out-of-state speeding conviction.
A speeding conviction in Illinois has taken an even more serious turn with the changes that became active in 2014. The new Illinois changes have made speeding 26 mph over the speed limit a class B Misdemeanor and speeding 36 mph over the speed limit a class A Misdemeanor. Traffic Court Judges are not allowed a sentence of court supervision on speeding tickets more than 25 mph over the limit.
Court supervision allows for a deferred judgment. If the defendant does not violate the terms of the supervision and is not charged with violating the law during the set time period, the charge will be dismissed upon the completion of the supervision term. This means that a conviction is not entered into the defendant's record, insurance rates should not be impacted and driving privileges should not be affected.
If you choose to challenge the speeding charges and fight your Illinois speeding ticket, you are choosing to work to convince the judge that you are not guilty. Contact an experienced Illinois traffic attorney as soon as possible and explain in detail your situation. Tim Henderson has the traffic court experience necessary to provide you with the best representation possible.
Points that may be raised in questioning the ticket validity may be:
Radar accuracy - Was the radar accurately calibrated? What kind of qualifications did the officer have in the use of the radar or laser equipment? Radar accuracy can also be brought into question because as the radar waves spread, they may be distorted by surrounding objects or even capture the speed of other vehicles.
Method used to ascertain speed - Every ticket should indicate the method used to determine the vehicle's speed. If trailing or pacing was used, the accuracy of the methods could be put into question because they will be based on a person's perception rather than the use of equipment.
Ticket Time Frame - If your speeding ticket requires a court appearance, the date is set by the issuing officer at the time the ticket was written. According to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 504, your ticket can be dismissed if the date for your scheduled court case is less than 14 days or more than 60 days from the issue date of the ticket. Even though an error in the scheduling on the ticket will negate the ticket, it is still important to appear at the scheduled time and to comply with all of the other directions on the ticket.
It is always important to be polite and cooperative when appearing before a Judge in an Illinois Traffic Court but, for any Traffic Court appearance, having an experienced Illinois Traffic Court attorney is critical. An experienced attorney will understand Illinois' traffic laws, possible consequences and the most effective way to mount a defense against the charges. Having a traffic attorney represent you in court can help save you money and protect your driving privileges for the long term.
Court Supervision in Illinois allows the charges to be dismissed after a specified length of time if there is compliance with certain conditions. An individual receiving court supervision is usually required to pay a fine and court costs. In some circumstances, the defendant may also be required to complete traffic school within a prescribed period of time. Generally a person placed on court supervision is under the court's jurisdiction for four months. If all conditions imposed by the court supervision are successfully completed and no further violations are brought to the court's attention during the supervision period, the charges will be dismissed without entering a conviction on the defendant's license.
With no conviction entered, no points are assigned on the person's driver's license and the violation does not count towards the limit of 3 moving violations in a 12 month period (3 moving violations within 12 months causes a license suspension in Illinois).
If a person fails to comply with any of the requirements set forth as part of the court supervision order, a conviction is entered into the defendant's record and additional costs and fines are imposed.
You are not eligible for Court Supervision if:
Your speeding ticket was for speeding in a school zone and creating a potential hazard for school children.
You have had a conviction for a moving violation within the 12 months prior to your ticket.
You are under 21.
You have already had court supervision twice for moving violations in the last 12 months.
You MAY also be denied Court Supervision if the Judge decides your poor driving record indicates you are likely to repeat the speeding infraction.