Q: Got ticket for 86 in 55.Based on speed increase this year should've been 86/60.17 bus days later & no court date.Lawyer?
I checked website for court date and there is still nothing there. What can I expect for 31 mph over limit? No priors or previous driving citations on record. Should I get a layer and is jail time a reality?
A:
Your ticket is for a class B misdemeanor known as aggravated speeding. This involves speeding 26-34 mph over the limit. By statute, it is ineligible for court supervision and a conviction is mandatory. Although the offense is punishable by a maximum of 180 days in a county jail and or a $1500 fine, jail is a very rare occurrence. Even so, hiring an attorney is very helpful to your case and will ensure it will be resolved soon. When you appear in court, the judge will most likely advise you to reappear with an attorney. This is because jail cannot be imposed without an attorney representing a client. The court wants to ensure that, should you not comply with the terms of your sentence (payment of fines, community service, etc), they still can hold jail over you as a punishment. This will require you to reappear and take more time off work to settle the case.
The benefit of a lawyer is they may be able to arrange for the court to grant court supervision. This can be done by amending the ticket to a lower speeding offense. Doing this will result in no conviction on your license, not being convicted of a criminal misdemeanor, and your insurance company and employer not being made aware of the violation.
As for why no court date, technically officers are supposed to get tickets to the courts within 48 hours but in practice, this often takes up to 10 business days in places like Kane county. Then the court generally doesn't process tickets into court cases until up to 7 business days after receiving the ticket. Then the notice must be mailed taking 3-5 days. Keep checking the clerk's office website for a court date using the name appearing on the ticket or the ticket number if that option exists. By supreme court rule, they must have the initial court date 14-60 days after issuance of the ticket so it will be somewhere in that window.
Either way, it is my recommendation that you seek an attorney for this matter so you have the best shot at court supervision.
Hope that helps!
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