Paying the ticket results in a conviction on your driving record. Too many moving violations, and your car insurance will go through the roof. Too many of certain kinds of convictions, and DPS will try to suspend your driver’s license, and you may also have to pay annual surcharges to keep your driving privileges. In most cases (over 95% for Class C licensees), even if you are guilty or if you are not eligible for defensive driving, we can keep moving violations off of your driving record.
In most cases, even if you are guilty or if you are not eligible for defensive driving, we can keep moving violations off of your driving record.
The right to take the defensive driving course is an important and valuable right. Once you elect this option, you lose the right to use it again from the date of your election to for one year from the date that you finish the course. What will you do if you get another moving violation in the next year? Wouldn’t it be better to have the defensive driving option still available to you? More often than not, depending on the particular judge and circumstances, we can get your case dismissed without your having to use up this “get out of jail free” card. Taking defensive driving without the benefit of legal counsel for all of your other options may be short-changing yourself, causing you to waste your defensive driving election unnecessarily.
Also, electing defensive driving is not without the risk that you will still end up with a conviction on your record anyway. You have to pay the court fees (usually about $60). You must also pay the tuition to an approved school for the course (which varies from about $25 to $50), and another $10 to the Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin for a certified copy of your driving record. Do not forget that you must also spend at least 6 hours attending and passing the course. Finally, you must then provide the court with a certified copy of your driving record and the official course completion certificate within the time period given by the court.
If you procrastinate and wait too long, or if you fail to do everything exactly as required, you can wind up having to go back to court again, and with a whole lot of wasted time and a conviction on your driving record anyway.
Without getting into many specifics, Peter de Leef & Associates forces the prosecution to conform to proper procedures, and to meets its burden of proof. This creates opportunities and pressures along the way for the case to get dismissed or settled in a way that protects your driving record. For example, based on the information found on the ticket, a more formal written “complaint” is prepared and filed later in the case. We examine the complaint for the kinds of defects and errors which require that the case be dismissed.
It is best to hire us as soon as possible after you receive your ticket. Otherwise, without realizing it, you may do something that hurts your chances of getting a better result, such as waiving one or more of your rights, or weakening our negotiating position by “taking care” of one or more violations while leaving another violation unresolved.
Missed court dates and/or failure to follow up with court-ordered requirements are much more costly than a few dollars on the front end. For this reason, don’t make your choice of law firm based solely on price. Nevertheless, we are competitive with all of our reputable competitors. Our fees are a flat, one time amount, and include defending all violations listed on your ticket. (Beware of some competitors charging for each separate violation on your ticket). The fee pays for our attorney to attend all court appearances with you, and includes a jury trial, should you so choose. Of course, outright dismissal of the charges without any probation fee is our ultimate goal. However, when dismissal without cost is not possible, the choice to dismiss your case as result of a probation or to go to trial is always yours. You will receive competent advice from one of our trusted lawyers on the pros and cons of each option before you make your choice.
Our basic flat fee is $125.00. In some cases, the fee may be more, and in other cases it may be less. For example, holders of commercial driver’s licenses are charged more. The same is true if you are charged with passing a school bus, speeding in a work zone, or if you want us do all of the legwork and handle your case turnkey without the necessity of your leaving your home or office to come to court with us. Certain non-moving violations are less if no moving violation is cited. Also, we represent many individuals who are cited for multiple ordinance violations in the City of Houston. Fees for these cases are quoted on a case-by-case basis, and due to volume, are usually considerably less per ticket.
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