FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Hey guys

A friend of mine got a pretty bad ticket in NJ the other day... 21-24 mph over the speed limit. He's from VA too, and got a bunch of letters in the mail from lawyers offering to represent him and even plead the case down w/o him even showing up for court... (from what I gathered from the letter, it seems NJ has some formal way of pleading down cases?). In any case, does anyone know:

1) If NJ notifies other states (namely VA) of traffic offenses?

2) How serious is the ticket (ie any possibility of a jail offense etc if my friend goes to court)?

3) Can you plead down cases yourself in NJ courts? I know here in Fairfax County courts, the Prosecution will talk ONLY to lawyers.

4) If it's possible to plead down cases, how hard/easy is it to do?

Of course, I'll take any advice too

Thanks
~Ramy

FourtyOunce

iTrader: (15)

1) From what I've heard in traffic court, NJ WILL inform other states of the violation.

2) If it is just a speeding (no reckless driving offense), it will just be points and fines. Depending if NJ will transfer the points, if your friend already has points on his lisence, and if VA will suspend his lisence .. I'm not too sure.

3) Yes, in most cases, you can talk to the Prosecutor and talk down the ticket. Some towns (from personal experience) have Prosecutors that tell you up front that they can reduce the point violation by a maximum of 2 points, but this will result in a heavier monetary fine.

4) If he was outright speeding, its hard to get out of it completely, especially in NJ. But since your friend is from out of state, most would suggest that he consult with a lawyer. If he is pressed for cash (NJ lawyers are pretty expensive), I would just talk to the Prosecutor and see if he will lower the point fine.

amp

iTrader: (50)

you need to check to make sure if there is communication between states...not all states do

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Thanks man... you raised 2 more questions

1) Can you speak to the prosecutor beforehand, or do you have to wait until the court date? Cuz we'd obviously like to see if he can find out if the prosecutor will talk it down beforehand, so we can see if a lawyer is necessary.

2) What can you plead the speeding tickets to? If it's just pleading it to a lesser speeding violation, I dunno what kind of diff it's going to make, as VA assigns points based on the VA point scale. So even if he gets it reduced to say a 2 point violation in NJ, it can very well transfer as a 4 point violation here in VA. So is it possible to plead down to improper driving or any other non-speeding violation?

VA will take anything from anywhere. They don't care. I was asking because I heard NJ doesn't accept points from other states, nor does it report it to other states. But then again, "I've heard that crap before," since w/ my ticket, PA said they do NOT report anything unless it's major (reckless, DUI). Lo and behold, my non-motion violation was reported to VA

alwayssideways

i got a careless driving ticket in nj and it never made it back to ct or my insurance. as for the letter in the mail. the state sells your name to the lawyers.. its just a scam. not sure about nj but here in ct you can talk down your case. most times if you plead guilty they prosucuter will ask for court fees and thats it if you dont have many speeding tickets . and most times you have to wait for your court date to speak to a prosocuter