Missouri Ticket Amendment | Fixing a Ticket | Ticket Plea Deal
How does ticket amendment work?
Ticket amendment is the process of entering a guilty to plea to a traffic charge that does not appear on your driving record. This is also known as fixing a ticket. Basically, a traffic lawyer goes to Court in your place and negotiates a plea deal with the prosecuting attorney to amend your ticket to a non-point violation. The traffic infraction is typically amended to defective equipment, defective muffler, or illegal parking. Under Missouri law, these are all non-moving, non-point violations which are not reported to the Department of Revenue for points.
Is fixing a ticket ethical?
Absolutely! We’ve all seen how plea deals work in the criminal justice system on television. A traffic citation is a criminal case. Prosecutors usually offer a plea deal on every criminal matter to keep their caseload manageable. If prosecutors had to conduct trials on every criminal matter nothing would ever get accomplished in Court. Most municipal courts in the St. Louis metro area only hold court once a month. There are usually several hundred cases on the docket that evening. While a traffic trial is usually very quick, it’s impossible to conduct hundreds of trial in one evening. Thus, most prosecutors offer a plea deal where the charge is amended to a non-point violation that keeps the case off your driving record. In exchange, the fine is increased based on your driving history and the facts of the case. Everyone wins, the Court get more money for doing less work, and you keep your insurance rates from going up.
Why do I need a lawyer to negotiate my ticket plea deal?
You don’t! In most Courts in the St. Louis metro area you are allowed to discuss your case with the prosecuting attorney at your first Court appearance. However, the threat of taking your case to trial without the assistance of an attorney is not the same. The prosecuting attorney knows that you probably lack an understanding of Missouri Court rules and procedures. In most instances, a ticket trial involving a self-represented Defendant will result in a conviction. This is because the Prosecuting attorney will likely keep all of your evidence from being admitted, and you won’t make the correct legal arguments to keep their inadmissible evidence out.
If you’re unsure about hiring an attorney to negotiate a ticket amendment on your case, try negotiating with the prosecutor on your own. If you don’t like what you hear, request a continuance to hire a Missouri ticket fix lawyer.
