Q: Got ticket fir speeding over 21-25mp and provided with plead guilty with supervision and driving school.

A: Hello Asker,

It depends. If you were cited as going 25 mph over or very close to it, I would not recommend mailing it in. If you had a prior ticket within the last year, I DEFINITELY would not mail it in. The first circumstance is less likely to be successful because high speeding offenses, particularly those 25mph on the dot, are often situations where the officer chose to reduce the ticket to cut the driver a break and avoid the misdemeanor bracket for 26-34 over. Most prosecutors know this and take it into account. For these drivers, supervision is less likely.

In the latter situation, you WILL NOT receive supervision. As a rule, prosecutors in DuPage County deny supervision requests without court appearances if the driver has had a ticket in the last year (even if supervision was previously granted). For these situations, the driver MUST appear in court to have a shot at supervision. If this is the case, you MUST appear in court if you want supervision.

As for hiring an attorney, this is really a personal decision. It is not needed per se but it helps. It increases your chances of getting supervision. It also can reduce your chances of avoiding traffic school though if you are under 21, there is nothing that can be done to avoid traffic school because it would be an illegal sentence. One benefit of an attorney is they can request supervision without you being present saving you from taking a day off of school or work. Additionally, if there is a legal defense, an attorney is likely to see it though speeding tickets have few defenses.

Lastly, just for clarification, court supervision will not keep it "off record" so much as have it recorded to a non-public portion of your record that most employers and insurance companies won't see. Supervisions are generally visible only by police, prosecutors, courts, the secretary of state, attorneys like myself, and the driver themselves. This keeps your rates low and MOST employers save for the ones mentioned here from finding out but you still have it on a version of your record (albeit a less public one). The exceptions to this hidden record rule are persons with specialized licenses such as Commercial Driver's Licenses, Limousine or chauffeur's licenses, taxi drivers, bus drivers, pilots, and the like. For these people, supervisions range from completely visible to somewhat visible depending on the circumstances.

Hope that helps and let us know if you have any questions!

Sincerely,

Jason A. Wilkins

Traffic Attorney

(630) 445-2293