Traffic Violations May Be Dropped, Dismissed Or Reduced By A Competent Attorney

Interviewer: How often can they get charges dropped, dismissed, or reduced so that their situation is not so serious?

Acacia Law Group Lawyer: I'd like to talk more about strategy. It's hard to give an exact amount because every situation is different. Now, I can tell you the strategy, look at the evidence, and apply a correct strategy. I would look and see when, if there were any violations of Miranda, was there an unlawful search of a vehicle, did the officer even have a reason to pull over the person, I don't like to give strict statistics on that, because in fact I don't know. One issue that I am familiar with and have experience with is anonymous tips. Sometimes a person calls in, says a person's drunk, about to drive.

Anonymous Tips Leading to Traffic Arrests Can be Challenged in Court

Well, that's something I can easily argue that there's no probably cause to approach the person, and get them off, and I would win more often where, if a person was calling in and said, "I see this person weaving on the road, driving erratically -" And that's an anonymous tip, as well - and then they've already witness it, and then an officer pulls them over, that's a little more difficult. The circumstances aren't the same. That's why I can't really give statistics, because each case is individual, and it's just about the strategy to use with each particular time.

It is Imperative for an Attorney to Analyze the Facts of a Case and Develop a Viable Defense Strategy

Interviewer: So it's more about the strategy in order to improve their chances?

Acacia Law Group Lawyer: Right, exactly. You'd have to look at the case and see what happened here, what can be done to fight the case and charges, and basically defend the constitutional rights, but since every case is different, the judge may rule two different ways just because one set of facts is different, so I can't really state statistics. The only statistics, probably, that I can give are maybe how often an officer shows up in court, but again, even then, it depends on each court, and the difference of what court allows what kind of rules, so it's hard to actually give straight, strict statistics.

A Competent Lawyer Can Challenge a Driving License Suspension in Court

Interviewer: If my license was already suspended, could a lawyer help me get it back?

Acacia Law Group Lawyer: Absolutely. In fact, one thing is that, in Arizona, there is a provision that says that as long as it's for unpaid tickets and not for too many points, or running a red light and not going to survival school - then a judge can dismiss it on his own. What I can do sometimes, is you can sneak that in, you can get that even in before a prosecutor. If the prosecutor signs off on it, it's fine, or they write on it before they get there. You don't need a prosecutor involved to dismiss a case for a suspended license, because the judge can do it on his own, even if the prosecutor doesn't want it. But, a lot of times you can negotiate with the prosecutor, too.

It is Advisable To try to Get Driving Privileges Retained as Soon as Possible

I always advise them; the sooner they get it back, the better. If the client can get me a copy of their license immediately before the first court date, that's their best chance to get it dismissed. After that, obviously, it becomes a little more difficult. One more thing: Every court is different. There, I said that's the one thing why I can't give statistics. There are some courts where they're really great about it, they're always going to dismiss, or they're always going to reduce; there are some courts where they just really want that suspended license conviction. They'll lower the fine, but they want the misdemeanor, and then it becomes an all-out battle, trying to prove did the person have notice that their license was suspended, or just tried to make it difficult to prove a case to defend, and then still eventually negotiate for the lesser offence.