My Traffic Guys:
San Diego Traffic Ticket Attorneys
Handling Traffic Tickets Throughout San Diego County
We handle all types of traffic tickets here in San Diego County. Our attorneys are in the traffic courts daily helping clients defend against speeding tickets, stop sign tickets, red light tickets, sign violations, driving with out a license or driving on a suspended license violations, minor in possession tickets, handicap placard misdemeanor violations, fix it tickets, and lifting driver's license holds on failure to appear violations, as well as all other types of tickets in the courts. If you received a citation here in San Diego contact us today for a free consultation to see how we can help you.
Speeding Tickets
Speeding tickets are probably the most common ticket these days. Officers can cited you for speeding over 65 mph (VC 22349(a)), speeding over 70 mph (VC 22356(b)), speeding over 100 mph (VC 22348(b)), or even speeding which is unsafe for the conditions (VC 22350). For more information about each of these types of speeding, take a look at the Speeding Ticket page.
Driving on a Suspended License
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​Driving on a suspended license can be cited as either a misdemeanor or an infraction. As a misdemeanor, the ticket usually goes to the criminal court and is prosecuted by either the District Attorney or the City Attorney. If cited as an infraction, the ticket goes to the traffic court. These are considered serious traffic infractions as they carry two points on your riving record if convicted of the driving on a suspended license charge. These are fightable, because the officer must prove that you had knowledge of the suspension and drive anyway. If they cannot prove you knew your license was suspended, you should win the trial.
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Red Light or Red Light Camera Tickets
People receiving a red light ticket may have received it from an officer or in the mail from a red light camera.
If you received the ticket from an officer the process is the same as any other ticket. You can fight the ticket, set it for trial, and then the officer has to present evidence that the light was red.
If you received a red light camera ticket, then your in the Vista court. You can contest the ticket, but you will be dealing with law enforcement representatives who have reviewed the video and photos related to the red light camera. Generally, these cases are won and lost on the quality of the photos, the ability to identify you as the driver, and the presence of the required paperwork related to the camera. If you are not the driver but were cited, you should contest the ticket and not name the driver, otherwise that person gets the ticket. Contact us to learn more about how you can contest a red light ticket.
Failure to Appear
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People often receive a ticket and forget about it. Others get told by the officer to expect something in the mail. Unfortunately, the only notice you are required to receive is the information at the bottom of the citation. On the citation itself, there is the court date and location for the first hearing (arraignment) on the ticket.
If, or when, you do not appear to address the ticket by that date, the court considers it a failure to appear (FTA). When you failure to appear at court, the court does two things: (1) imposes a $300 civil assessment for failing to appear at court, and (2) notifies the DMV that you failed to appear at court and the DMV suspends your driver's license.
If you miss your court date, either you or an attorney can still make the court appearance, which will lift any holds placed on your license and you can still enter a not guilty plea to the charge and contest the underlying violation. You may also be able to get the $300 dismissed or reduced depending on the circumstances of why you failed to appear and how quickly after failing to appear you came back to the court.
Sign Violations
Sign violations under vehicle code (VC) section 21461(a) are common. Generally people get cited for violating a regulatory sign like a no left turn, no turn on red, no u-turn, or no turn during certain times of the day.
These sort of offenses come down to whether the officer can prove the violation through notes, photos, diagrams, etc. As with other tickets, if the officer is not present on the second court date (the trial), the court must dismiss your citation, so it may be worth your time and effort to contest the ticket or hire an attorney to handle the hearings and examine the evidence for you at trial.
Fix It Tickets
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​Tickets that are deemed correctable violations are commonly referred to as "fix-it" tickets because if you fix the violation that caused the citation, the court will dismiss the ticket. This is usually for things such as not having insurance with them at the time of the stop, tinted windows, missing front license plate, lighting violations, not having the correct address listed with the DMV, etc.
You can deal with a fix it ticket in a few different ways. You can show an officer proof of the correction and have the officer sign off stating the issue has been corrected on the backside of the citation. You can also bring the proof to the court and show the judge that it has been fixed. The court will charge a $25 dismissal fee when you show proof to the court.
Too often people fix the violation, but never go to the court to show proof. If you do this, it will turn in to a failure to appear, and the court will add the $300 civil assessment and the DMV will suspend your license. So remember, once you fix the violation, you must still submit the proof to the court.
If you received a failure to appear notice in the mail or a delinquent notice from the court, give us a call to see how we can help.
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