Q: Can I plea guilty & get court supervision for a ticket I received for rear-ending someone in DuPage County?
Form states eligible if I've not had a conviction nor have I received court supervision more than (2) times within 12 months. I received a speeding ticket earlier this year and pled guilty - is that considered a conviction and am I not eligible for court supervision? Do I fill out form, "plea of guilty & affidavit for court supervision", and send in the $120 fee? Or do I not pay it and not go to court to request court supervision?
A:
First, DO NOT MAIL IN THE TICKET! In my experience with the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office, requesting court supervision by mail is VERY likely to result in a conviction if you had a previous ticket within the last 12 months. For this reason, it is very dangerous to mail in the ticket.
Second, when it comes to accident tickets, the potential for civil liability always exists. For this reason, pleading guilty is a risky proposition which can be used as evidence of fault if you find yourself the subject of a civil suit on this matter. As traffic attorneys, there are ways to both make dismissal much more likely as well as preventing the harmful admission of fault a guilty plea will result in.
Third, by appearing in court, you make to possibility of dismissal more likely preventing you from ever needing to pay a $120 fee.
For these reasons, it is advisable that you at least schedule a consultation with a traffic attorney to discuss the impact of this ticket and ways to mitigate any harm that could result.
Sincerely,
Jason A. Wilkins
Attorney at Law
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