It’s Easy to Work With New Orleans Traffic Court Lawyers

Traffic tickets may seem like a nuisance, but they can quickly have a negative impact on your life if they are not resolved in a timely manner. Tickets on your driving record may result in costly insurance premiums and points on your license. They can eventually lead to a suspended license or bench warrant for your arrest.

If you have received a traffic ticket in the state of Louisiana, you need a qualified lawyer to protect your driving record and ensure you avoid the serious consequences that can come with a ticket.

Our firm ONLY handles tickets in Jefferson Parish, Orleans Parish, and St Charles Parish.

Moving Violations

Traffic tickets are more serious—and cost more—when they involve a moving violation. Moving violations are defined as violations that occur while a vehicle is in motion, such as speeding tickets, passing from the wrong lane, running a red light, or failing to signal before making a turn. Drivers of cars, motorcycles, trucks and even bicycles can get ticketed for moving violations in Louisiana.

Bloom Legal can help resolve moving violations, allowing you to avoid points on your license that could hike up your insurance rates. Seeking legal help quickly will give you ample options for resolving your ticket with minimal hassle. Let Bloom Legal do the work for you and contact us immediately after you receive a moving traffic violation. Together we can review your options and prevent a violation from turning into a costly expense.

I Got a Ticket. Now What?

The smartest, savviest, and most cost effective solution to a traffic ticket problem in New Orleans is to hire an experienced attorney to fight on your behalf. Having an attorney handling your ticket can keep your fines to a minimum, insurance premiums low, and driving record clean. Bloom Legal is here to help. We will use our legal knowledge, as well as the advanced technologies our firm has embraced, in order to help you resolve your ticket problems as soon as possible.

What If I Got a Ticket While Visiting Louisiana?

If you received a traffic ticket while visiting Louisiana, you must still pay the fine within the designated amount of time. The lawyers at Bloom Legal can review your options for resolving the citation without the need for a plane ticket or long car ride back to Louisiana.

Stop Sign Tickets

If you are cited by law enforcement for not stopping your vehicle at a stop sign, you can face a fine of $222. In Louisiana, driving offenses are recorded on your public driving record. Minor offenses stay on your record for three years, while serious violations remain public record for five years. A record of running a stop sign can increase the cost of auto insurance and disqualify you from jobs that require a perfect driving history.

It is important to understand your rights if you are cited for a violation of laws requiring you to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. A New Orleans traffic ticket lawyer can help you respond to your stop sign ticket so you can potentially avoid a fine and other consequences.

Avoiding a Fine and Penalties for a Stop Sign Traffic Ticket

Paying the fine for a stop sign traffic ticket constitutes an admission that you committed the driving offense. As a result, the history of the ticket will appear on your driving record and your insurer may raise your auto insurance rates. You should not send in payment for a traffic ticket until after you have spoken to a lawyer to understand your options.

If you do not pay your citation after you are ticketed, you will be required to appear in court. You can plead guilty, nolo contendere (no contest) or not guilty. Regardless of how you plea, it is essential that you arrive at court on the date of your scheduled hearing.

If you fail to appear, a warrant may be issued for your arrest. A warrant will affect you in any city and state, not just your home town. The traffic violation will not go away and needs your immediate attention.

If pleading guilty or no contest, you could potentially arrange to take a driver safety course to avoid the stop sign violation from showing up on your public driving record. Your attorney can help you determine if this is an available option for your unique circumstance.

If you decide to plead not guilty, you will avoid conviction if the prosecution cannot prove that you ran the stop sign. If the citing officer does not appear at your hearing, you will likely not be found not guilty, although cases vary. If the officer does show up, your lawyer can question him or her about the following:

  • The angle at which the officer saw the alleged offense
  • Officer’s distance from the stop sign where you allegedly fail to stop
  • Officer’s training history
  • Officer’s tenure in active law enforcement

If you can introduce doubt about whether the officer actually saw you run the stop sign, then you may be able to secure a non-guilty verdict.

Failing to stop at a stop sign is a serious traffic offense, and you need to be proactive in finding a New Orleans traffic ticket lawyer who can help you contest the accusations.

CDL Tickets

Commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders are held to a higher standard when it comes to obeying the rules of the road. CDL traffic tickets, or tickets issued to professional drivers, could thus result in larger fines than would be imposed on an average driver. A record of receiving tickets for traffic violations could also cost you your job or make it difficult for you to find employment in the future.

Commercial drivers’ license holders should consult an experienced New Orleans traffic court lawyer as soon as a ticket is issued. Your lawyer may be able to help you avoid a record of the ticket or conviction.

Commercial Driver’s License Tickets Have Serious Consequences

Most trucking companies are reluctant to hire or continue to employ a trucker with a history of traffic tickets. The more serious your traffic offense and the more tickets you receive, the greater the likelihood you will no longer be able to find work as a commercial driver.

In some cases, the actions you take when driving a commercial vehicle can impact not just your CDL but also your regular license. For example, a trucker who leaves an accident scene or who drives while impaired could face consequences to his or her professional and personal license and reputation.

Truckers who are cited for a traffic violation need to understand how much is at stake. In Louisiana, minor violations for traffic offenses generally stay on a person’s record for three years while major violations remain on a public driving record for up to five years. This history of driving violations will shadow those with CDL tickets for a long time.

Fortunately, being ticketed does not necessarily mean you will be convicted or have to pay the fine. New Orleans traffic court lawyers can help fight your ticket and can poke holes in the evidence to convince a judge or jury that there is reasonable doubt of your guilt.

Drivers with a commercial license can be ticketed for a variety of behaviors, some of which are against the law for all drivers and other offenses that are against the law only for truckers. In any case, the guilt of the trucker must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt if the trucker challenges a citation.

If the law enforcement officer who cited the trucker does not appear at the court hearing, a CDL holder can potentially avoid conviction. Raising affirmative defenses like faulty radar detectors is another strategy a trucker can use to avoid conviction for a traffic offense.

How a Traffic Ticket Affects a CDL License

Late Tickets

In Louisiana, you have a limited period of time to respond when you receive a traffic ticket. If you are late to pay, you will face additional fines and penalties. In some cases, if you do not pay or respond to a traffic citation, a bench warrant may be issued for your arrest.

If you have late tickets and are concerned about the fines or the possibility that you may be arrested, you must be proactive in addressing this issue. A New Orleans traffic court lawyer at Bloom Legal can help you understand your options and deal with your tickets in a way that causes you the least stress and cost at a rate you can afford.

In New Orleans, police agents generally provide notice of traffic tickets to traffic courts within seven to 10 days after the ticket was issued to a motorist. After receiving the ticket, it is entered into the court computer and processed immediately. Action cannot be taken on a traffic ticket until after it has been entered into the system. As such, you should wait at least seven days from the time your ticket is issued before you contact traffic court to take action on the citation.

You have two options for taking action when you are issued a citation:

  • Pay your fines and fees – If you pay the fees you are admitting guilt. As a result, this traffic offense will go on your record and any associated points will be put on your license, possibly raising your insurance costs.
  • Plead not guilty and request a trial date – This option gives you the opportunity to come before a traffic court judge and argue about why you should not be convicted of the traffic offense. If the law enforcement officer who ticketed you does not come to court to present evidence you may avoid conviction, paying a fine and/or have the record removed from your driving history.

If you do not take action to either pay your fees or respond to the ticket before the first appearance date, you will be charged a late fee. The cost for late tickets is $100, added to the original amount that was due.

If you do not deal with your traffic ticket by coming to court as required or by paying the fine, the judge may issue a bench warrant for your arrest.

Online Traffic Ticket Payments

In most of Louisiana, it is possible to pay traffic tickets online. You can pay your ticket online only if it is a payable offense that does not require a court date or proof with payment.

Payable offenses include:

  • Running a stop sign
  • Running a red light
  • Failure to yield
  • Failure to signal

Offenses that require a court appearance, such as driving 20 miles per hour or more over the speed limit or reckless operation of a vehicle, are not offenses for which you can make an online traffic ticket payment.

While paying your traffic ticket online is simple and easy, electronic payments carry potential ramifications. Paying your fine without going to court is an admission of guilt. The record of your traffic citation will appear on your public driving record and will remain for three years to five years depending on the severity of the offense. Your insurance costs may rise, and you will not be eligible for employment that requires a clean driving history.

Paying your traffic fine online has an impact on your future, you should not click the button to send the cash until you have consulted a New Orleans traffic ticket lawyer to determine if paying the fee is the best option for you.

Your attorney can help you find ways to avoid a poor driving record such as taking a driver improvement course. Your lawyer may even be able to help you to obtain a verdict of not guilty.

Making an Online Traffic Ticket Payment – Why You Need a Lawyer

Online traffic ticket payments require that you provide your traffic citation number and a credit card. It is essential if you plan to pay online that you ensure the transaction has completed and satisfied your obligations.Failure to show up in court or pay the required fines can result in withdrawal of your driving privileges, a charge of additional fees, and even a bench warrant for your arrest. Do not assume you can avoid these consequences by paying a fine online if your ticket mandates that you appear in court.

Before paying online, you should talk to a New Orleans traffic court lawyer about whether it would be smart or viable to defend yourself against the citation. You do not have to prove your innocence, but only need to introduce reasonable doubt about whether your actions violated traffic laws. In most cases, a traffic court judge will hear evidence and testimony from both sides to determine if you should be found guilty. Your attorney can help you find ways to avoid a poor driving record such as taking a driver improvement course. Your lawyer may even be able to help you to obtain a verdict of not guilty.

Why You Need a Traffic Ticket Attorney

At Bloom Legal, we make working with New Orleans traffic court lawyers easy. We will handle as much of your case as we can via phone in order to make the process simple and easy. Our lawyers can even attend court on your behalf. We help our clients resolve their traffic tickets with ease, whether you live locally or were ticketed while visiting the area.

Contact Bloom Legal for assistance with any type of traffic violation. We are extremely qualified to handle any legal situation. At Bloom Legal we take pride in fighting aggressively to keep you safe and legal on the road.

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