Should You Fight a Minnesota Speeding Ticket?

It’s what everyone hopes to avoid while driving: the dreaded “flashing blues” in their rear-view mirror, an indication that someone’s about to be pulled over. Hopefully it isn’t you. At one point or another, just about everyone drives faster than the posted speed limit. Generally speaking, traffic enforcement officers give motorists some latitude – allowing motorists to drive between 5 and 10 miles per hour faster than what’s allowed for – but anything more than that and a ticket is probably in your future.  If you have received a ticket --- speaking to an experienced Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney. 
 
A  ticket has lasting effects. It can cause auto insurance premiums to increase for motorists who are convicted and attaches points onto the driving record. Get too many tickets, and it could result in a license suspension. 

Think About It

Generally speaking, most courts decide in favor of the police officer, typically because they have proof that confirms their observation. Furthermore, even if you think you have a compelling argument, there’s no guarantee that the judge will decide in your favor. Thus, you can wind up spending hours in court hearings and you don't get the result you want/need.  .

That being said --- having help (ie., a lawyer) can might be the best use of your time/defense to beat a charge and/or negotiate an outcome with the prosecutor to keep it off of your record. 

If you think spending a few dollars is worth the saving in the long-term. Call the Rolloff Law Office - our fees for citations start at under $200.  Call for FREE ANSWERS today: (612) 234-1165.

Minnesota Speeding Ticket (Explained)

Every Minnesota driver is expected to use due care when operating a vehicle. This means, among other things, obeying all posted speed limits. A driver who exceeds the speed limit can be pulled over and fined.  If you have received a ticket --- and youwant to keep it off of your record --- call an experienced Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney.  The money you spend now ... will be money you save in the future.  

Speed limits

In Minnesota Speed limits are usually designated by traffic signs. If no speed limit is posted, these are the lawful speeds at which to drive:

• 30 mph in an urban area or on a town road in a rural residential district
• 65 mph on non-interstate freeways and expressways
• 70 mph on interstate highways outside the limits of any urbanized area with a population greater than 50,000
• 65 mph on interstate highways inside the limits of any urbanized area with a population greater than 50,000
• 10 mph in alleys
• 55 mph in locations other than those specified above

Penalties

The basic fines for speeding in Minnesota depend on how far over the limit the driver was speeding --- the maximum can be almost $400.  In addition to the fine, penalties for speeding/moving violations increase as more tickets are issued. 

A person’s driver’s license will be suspended for:

• 30 days, if the person is convicted of:
  • Four traffic offenses within a 12-month period
  • Five traffic offenses within a 24-month period
• 90 days, if the person is convicted of:
  • Five traffic offenses within a 12-month period
  • Six traffic offenses within a 24-month period
• 180 days, if the person is convicted of seven traffic offenses within a 24-month period
• One year, if the person is convicted of eight or more traffic offenses within a 24-month period.

Minnesota Speeding Attorneys

In all Minnesota speeding cases, the burden of proof lies with the prosecution to prove that the defendant broke the law by exceeding the speed limit. There are a number of possible ways to defend speeding violations. Perhaps the officer’s radar was improperly operated and gave an inaccurate result, or maybe the officer did not have sufficient training to use the radar gun. 

The Rolloff Law Office can analyze your case and partner with you to craft a strategy for successful defense and keep your speeding violations off of your permanent record.  Call today: (612) 234-1165.

How to Keep a Speeding Ticket Off of Your Record

I get it --- If you can --- keep speeding tickets (heck - ANY tickets) off of your driving record, right?  Why? ... Well, we all know that your insurance company will use them as an excuse to send your rates through the roof. 

How to Keep a Ticket Off of Your Record

In Minnesota, there are a couple of different ways to do this ... with or without an experienced Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney.  

The easiest is to request court supervision. Some Minnesota courts may allow you to use this option.  This means negotiating a resolution whereby --- as long as you get no new tickets the conviction won't show up on your record. In order to do this, you must do three things: (1) obtain an agreement from the DA, (2) pay the "fine" they assess, and (3) make sure that you get no new tickets of a same or similar nature.

The other way of "beating" a Minnesota Traffic Ticket is far less reliable: pleading guilty and trying to defend yourself against the charge. If you try to do this, it's important to make sure you have a valid defense-otherwise, you are wasting your breath. To help motorists examine the strength of their defensive strategy, the court's even provide a list of defense that will not be accepted:

• "The sun was in my eyes."
• "I was keeping up with the flow of traffic."
• "My speedometer was broken."
• "I did not see the sign." (Unacceptable unless the sign was not placed in accordance with state standards.)
• "I was unfamiliar with the neighborhood and was lost." 

In fact, if you choose to plead innocent, you may be better of using the services of a Minnesota Traffic Ticket Lawyer. Such a person is much better prepared to argue your case than you could ever be. Lawyers know which defenses are likely the work and which won’t, and they have a better knowledge of the ins and outs of the court system than most people do. 

If you have ANY questions about what a lawyer can do for you - call The Rolloff Law Office to set up a FREE consultation.  Call (612) 234-1165.

Beat Any Ticket - Every time (or Die Trying)

When you get a Speeding Ticket in Minnesota be prepared to pay more than the cost of the ticket. Specifically, your insurance company may raise your insurance rates. So, what are you going to do... think about talking to an experienced Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney about beating a ticket.  Honestly, the money you spend to keep the ticket off of your record will be a huge profit to you in the long run.

Understanding that almost any person that gets caught driving too fast will pay.Here's how we fight back!


Dispute the Police Officer's Opinion

Police officers often cite drivers for making unsafe turns or driving unsafely down a road. These tickets require the officer to put down his personal opinion and come to a subjective conclusion about what happened. If you have received a ticket where the officer needed to exercise some sort of personal judgment about the situation, you may be able to challenge that judgment. For example, suppose you were cited with an unsafe lane change while driving on the highway. If we show up to fight the ticket, we can argue that your lane change was safe given the weather and traffic conditions at that time. To further support our argument, we could also point out that the police officer was in front of you during the lane change, and that, due to the heavy traffic conditions, the officer most likely was paying more attention to the road in front of him rather than a car changing lanes behind him.

Subjective speeding tickets are also issued all of the time --- and it leaves it up to the police officer to determine whether a driver is driving at a safe speed. These speeding tickets are often challenged by those who are cited. If you have received a speeding ticket for going above the posted speed limit we ay be able to challenge the officer's opinion by proving that your speed was safe given the conditions. As an example, if an officer cites you for going 75 mph in a posted 65 mph zone, you may argue that your speed was safe because all of the cars in your lane were also traveling at 75 mph, and thus, it would be unsafe to drive at or below 65 mph.

Dispute the Officer's Evidence

There are yet other types of tickets where the police officer's judgment cannot be called into question. These tickets generally have to do with tickets that are clear cut, like running through a stop sign or making an illegal U-turn. Here, challenging a ticket involves challenging whether or not the officer saw you perform the ticketed action. The results of these types of cases will generally boil down to who the judge believes, and you, as the driver, will often have a high burden to overcome. However, there are certain types of arguments and evidence that you can present that may help your case by calling into question the officer's observations.

Some of the best arguments and evidence to present in such a situation are:

• Eyewitness statements from passengers, other drivers on the road or pedestrians that will confirm your story.
• Diagrams, diagrams, diagrams. The more clearly you can show where your car was in relation to the officer's car at the time of the citation, the more robust an argument you can make. For instance, a great diagram would show that the officer could not have seen you run a red light because he was trailing you too far behind to see whether or not your car was in the intersection at the time the light turned red.
• Photographs of the scene of the alleged traffic violation. Photographs can help you if, for example, they demonstrate your claim that a stop sign was obscured by an overhanging limb, or show that a traffic light was out of power at a certain time of day.

Present You Own Evidence 

In Minnesota, the judge hearing your case will be allowed to come to their own decision regarding the traffic ticket if presented with the right evidence. For certain types of tickets, like running a stop sign, you may be allowed to present evidence that you should not be required to pay the ticket because you made a "mistake of fact."

Mistakes of fact are mistakes made by drivers about the situation. To clarify, it helps to look at a few examples. First, it would be a mistake of fact if you were driving in two lanes because the lane markers were so worn down by use that you could not see them. Second, it would be a mistake of fact to make an illegal right turn because wind had recently blown down the no right turn sign.

Often, a judge will toss out a ticket that has been issued against you if you can show that you had inadequate notice. For example, if you regularly drive a stretch of road everyday and one day are ticketed for running a stop sign that was installed the previous day, you can argue that you had insufficient notice about the new sign, and that you made a mistake of fact. However, if the stop sign was up long enough for you to be aware of it, or if you never drove that stretch of road before, or if you were driving recklessly and failed to see the sign, you would probably not win this argument.

Argue that Your Driving Was Justified/Necessary

Another way to fight traffic tickets is not to deny or point out mistakes in the ticketing process, but rather to admit to the illegal driving but present another fact that makes the illegal driving justified and allowable. This is a great way to fight a ticket because you do not have to dispute the officer's statement or the charge in the ticket, but rather show circumstances that necessitated your driving.

For instance, if you were ticketed for driving too quickly on the highway, you may present evidence that you were passing a car that you thought had a drunk driver. In this situation, your speeding may be warranted as you were trying to prevent an accident that may have caused a multi-car pile up. However, this defense would be negated if the officer could prove that you kept your high speed even after passing the other vehicle on the road.

As another example, if you are ticketed for changing lanes recklessly and stopping on a highway, you may be able to fight the ticket by showing that you felt waves of dizziness and felt like fainting while driving. You pulled over your car and stopped as soon as you could so as to avoid passing out while driving. A judge could very well agree that your conduct was legally justified and throw out the ticket.

If you want to keep you insurance rates down - fight your tickets --- fight everyone of them.  As a former prosecutor, I've been involved in literally hundreds of trials on matters like these.  You would believe what good work can be done to protect you and your future.  Call the Rolloff Law Office today: (612) 234-1165

Hire an Affordable Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney

As an experienced Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney, I get a lot of questions about what individuals should consider when looking to hire a criminal attorney.

Among the many things you must consider, such as: do you feel comfortable with the attorney when you meet them face-to-face; is he going to spend the time necessary to understand the particulars of your case; and can he explain to you what to expect in terms of potential outcomes, and the risks involved --- you also need to look at these things.

1. EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCE 

There simply is no substitute for hands-on experience in a criminal courtroom. It is by far the most important consideration in choosing a criminal lawyer. Every case is different, as are the personalities of each, judge, prosecutor and law enforcement officer. Attorneys that have been around the local legal landscape for a long time tend to be more expensive, but it is often money well spent. Former prosecutors are often good bets, as assistant county attorneys have often had extensive trial and plea bargaining experience that someone who starts out on the defense side might not have.

BUT, keep this in mind: If you have a unique case, or an especially complex case, younger lawyers with moderate experience tend to be hungry. They are eager to establish their own reputations. They will have more time to research caselaw and do background investigation. They will pour blood, sweat and tears into your defense. They might be willing to try a novel legal argument much quicker than a more established attorney. A less-established attorney will also have more time to spend with you one-on-one. They will have fewer cases, and will probably be paid less for each of those cases, so each case to the less-established attorney is important.

2. AVOID ATTORNEYS WHO PROMISE OUTCOMES

Criminal attorneys are seldom assured of any particular outcome in a case. We operate in a field that is filled with uncertainty. We can, however, offer you a forecast of what to expect when your case goes to court.

3. STREET SMARTS

Common sense and how the real world works is important. We are a people-based practice area, and have to understand practical realities. A grasp of legal statutes is critical, but criminal lawyers spend far more time with real people than holed up in law libraries.

4. COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND LISTENING

Look for an attorney that can explain the law to you in easy to understand terms. Does the attorney listen to your story without interruptions? Does he or she explain to you possible defenses you may have to a particular charge? If you come away from an initial consultation feeling befuddled or misunderstood, look for another lawyer.

5. SOMEONE WHO IS NOT AFRAID TO GO TO TRIAL

The client always controls the decision of whether to accept a plea offer or go to trial. Plea bargaining often results in the best possible outcome for a client. Good things, however, can also come from forcing the State to prove its case. Let your intuition tell you whether this is an attorney you can go into battle with.

As a Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney, I pride myself on providing the best representation possible. I'm a former prosecutor (and before that I clerked for a judge) --- if it has happened in the courtroom I've seen and done it.  For more information or to schedule a free consultation, call the Rolloff Law Office today: (612) 234-1165.  Or, for more information, visit my website: rollofflaw.com.

Does Hiring a Minnesota Traffic Lawyer Really Help?

So you got a ticket --- the question that often comes to mind is: Will Hiring a Lawyer Help?

Obviously, you know the answer to this question is yes. Why would I, a Minnesota Criminal Defense Lawyer, write this if the answer was no?  That being said, I'm not just going to leave it at that. I'm going to break it down for you a little bit, show you how we can help, and hopefully convince you that the next time you get a speeding ticket in Minnesota, or any other traffic ticket for that matter (unless it's a non-moving violation), that you get help from a traffic lawyer.

Don't Take My Word For it - Go To Court and See For Yourself

If you've never been to traffic court before and wonder just exactly what it is that we traffic lawyers do, take a morning off and go down and watch. You will quickly see a pattern forming.

The first thing that you'll see is nearly every ticket a traffic lawyer argues gets dismissed or reduced. Time after time they'll step up, make a few arguments (some of which I've outlined in this blog before), and the judge will dismiss the case or the prosecutor will move to amend the ticket.

Then you'll see the people without attorneys get up. They'll try their best, they might even do it with conviction, but one after another they will lose, lose, lose. The bottom line is these people are simply out of their area of expertise.

Think about it like this. When I have a problem with my plumbing I call a plumber. When I have a problem with my car I call a mechanic. When I recently had a problem with my finger I went to the doctor. Why wouldn't you do the same thing with a speeding ticket?

Traffic Lawyer Know There Sh*t

Okay, let me pull that back just a little bit - I know that at the Rolloff Law Office at least we know what we're doing. And, of course, there are others out there that know what they are doing.

We spend some part of every single day working on beating speeding tickets. That's why we're so good. That's why, when we're in court, we take care of business. That's why it's a good idea to hire us.

Is the Cost Worth the Benefit?

Most speeding tickets range in price from $85 all the way up to $1,085. If you add in No Insurance or some other infraction, the potential fines can easily reach well into the thousands. And that doesn't even begin to count the insurance increases that could happen with a speeding ticket conviction. With all that on the line, isn't it worth $250 bucks to pay a traffic ticket lawyer to help you out?

Other Benefits

There's a reason I'm a Minnesota Traffic Attorney and not a probate attorney or a business attorney - I like the idea of being the hired gun, the person to come in and take care of business and get you out of trouble. And I love it when people brag about having someone "on the payroll" to fix any traffic ticket they might get.

Maybe you like doing stuff on your own. Maybe you think you'll just subpoena the cop and he won't show up (he will). Maybe you think $250 is too much to spend on a lawyer (it isn't.) Whatever the reason, if you decide to fight your speeding ticket on your own, you're putting yourself at a huge disadvantage. Before you go it alone, give us a call to see if we can help. There's no obligation, and it might be the best call you've ever made.  Call the Rolloff Law Office today at (612) 234-1165 to set up a FREE CONSULTATION.

Minnesota Traffic Tickets (Explained)

As a Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney, I get a lot of calls related to a traffic violation of one type of another.  Some of those calls are regarding more serious charges like Drunk Drivings and Careless or Reckless driving, but the vast majority reference smaller infractions, such as Speeding tickets and Stop Sign violations.  One of the questions people ask first is whether or not they really need a lawyer to help them deal with a traffic violation.  I'll try to give some straight forward and honest answers to this question and hopefully help people better understand what a Minnesota traffic attorney can do for them when faced with this type of issue.

Can a Lawyer Really Help

If you have been charged with a traffic violation that doubles as a misdemeanor charge (such as DWI, careless/reckless driving, hit-and-run, etc...), you definitely should look to hire a Minnesota Traffic Attorney.  Misdemeanor charges can carry with them a penalty of up to $1000 and 90 days in jail.  These types of offenses can also result in license suspensions or revocations, as well.  When you're dealing with penalties this severe, there is no "savings" to be realized by avoiding hiring an attorney.  Call a Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney and get some answers before you move forward in your case.  It'll be well worth your investment.

As for more minor "petty misdemeanor" tickets, whether or not you really need an attorney depends greatly on your circumstances.  There are only a couple of situations that I encounter where I recommend people hire an attorney to handle their petty misdemeanor traffic cases.  One situation is when the accused has multiple traffic violations on their record, and adding another would hinder their ability to hold car insurance.  The other is when someone uses their license to earn a living.  Let's look at both of those situations separately.

If you've been saddled with a bunch of tickets in the past 5 years, chances are you've seen an increase in your insurance premiums.  If you continue to pile up tickets, it's possible for your insurance company to deny you further coverage, meaning that you could be out in the cold and be unable to operate your vehicle.  If you are at the breaking point with your insurance (or simply can't afford any more premium increases), having a Minnesota traffic attorney work with you on your case could help you get the ticket lowered to a reduced charge, at the very least.  If you have reason to believe that you were wrongly issued a citation, an attorney can help you fight said ticket in the courts and get you the best deal possible.  By reducing your ticket (or getting it dismissed altogether), a Minnesota Traffic Attorney can help you keep your insurance premiums consistent, saving you thousands of dollars in the process.

What Can Be Gained?

If you are someone who uses their license to earn a living, having a Minnesota traffic attorney could help your cause quite a bit, as well.  Truck drivers, taxi drivers, mail carriers, delivery drivers, and heavy equipment operators all have a vested stake in keeping their license clean.  Tickets can cost you your job, safety bonuses, or the opportunity to find a higher paying position in the future.  A Minnesota traffic attorney can analyze your case to determine whether there are any aspects of your situation that can be challenged.  If no such elements exist, a dedicated attorney can still help you negotiate a deal with prosecution that can lessen the charge you are convicted of and help keep your license pristine.  If you're family depends on you keeping a clean license to survive financially, take the time to speak with an attorney to see what options you have.

What's Next?

If you find yourself the recipient of a basic speeding ticket/stop sign ticket/red light ticket, you've got a couple different options.

First, you can choose to pay the ticket online/over the phone/in the mail.  You'll be pleading guilty to the charge on the ticket, but you'll eliminate the chances of having to pay any late fees or penalties for neglecting to pay the ticket.  For all intents and purposes, that ticket will be on your record for five years.  If you receive no further tickets during that period, it's unlikely that your insurance will be effected (assuming you weren't going 40 over the limit).  For most people, this option is easiest, as it doesn't require you to take a morning off work and go down to the courthouse.

Your second option is to appear for your court date and attempt to challenge the ticket.  Often, the citation you receive will have a court date printed on the ticket.  If it doesn't, there will be a phone number for you to call to get one.  The benefit to taking this path to dealing with your ticket is that prosecutors tend to be willing to negotiate with people who show up.

If you choose option #2 --- a lawyer can help.  Often, he/she knows what to say and how to say it --- this could save you a trip to court and earn you the outcome you're seeking.  If you need to know more about how to fight you Minnesota Traffic Ticket - call the Rolloff Law Office today to set up a FREE CONSULTATION: (612) 234-1165.  (Honestly, the money you spend on an attorney could actually save moeny on costly insurance premiums in the future.)