Most people figure a ticket is just a ticket. Pay it, take the hit, move on.
There's a real line between an infraction and a misdemeanor here. A speeding ticket is usually an infraction. Driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, evading an officer, or racking up enough points to trigger a suspension are different charges, and several are misdemeanors that put a criminal conviction on your record. Reckless driving and evading can carry jail time.
As a former Stanislaus County prosecutor, I know how these are charged and where there's room to negotiate. Plenty of misdemeanor traffic cases can be reduced to an infraction, resolved through traffic school, or knocked down to keep points off your record and your license intact.
The defense depends on the charge. For a suspended-license case, did you actually know your license was suspended? Was the notice ever properly sent? For reckless or evading, was your driving truly willful disregard, or just ordinary bad luck and an aggressive officer? We look at the stop, the radar or pacing, and the paperwork behind any suspension.
You want someone who treats a "small" charge seriously because the consequences aren't small. Request a free consultation.