Traffic offenses can lead to severe penalties, including points on your driver’s license and a driver’s license suspension or revocation. In addition, some offenders may have to pay high monetary fines or incur other severe penalties.
If you recently received a citation or are pending a traffic offense that you want to challenge, you need to retain a skilled attorney to represent you as quickly as possible.
The Akron Traffic Offense Lawyers at Patituce & Associates can review your charges and determine some legal options for moving forward.
Sometimes, we can raise a legal defense on your behalf, represent you at a criminal court hearing, or appeal your conviction through the court system. Our legal team will do everything possible to secure the best possible result in your traffic offense case.
Too many people fail to take traffic offenses seriously. All traffic violations can affect your life and future, whether it’s a citation or criminal charge. Never wait until you discover the consequences of a traffic violation, and it is too late to rectify the situation.
Instead, discuss your offense with our Akron traffic offense lawyers. Consultations are free, so you have nothing to lose by inquiring whether you require defense representation.
Why Choose Us for Legal Representation in Your Case?
When you need legal representation against criminal traffic charges, we know you have a selection of local attorneys from which to choose.
The Akron traffic offense attorneys at Patituce & Associates, LLC can handle every aspect of your criminal case and will work hard to secure a favorable result. Our legal team has successfully tried more than 200 cases and obtained good results for our criminal defense clients. In addition, three members of our legal team were once state prosecutors.
Therefore, we know how prosecutors assemble their cases, and we use that knowledge to our advantage when aggressively defending our clients against their pending criminal charges.
Our legal team can benefit your traffic case by:
- Reviewing the citation and the allegations that the police officer is making
- Determining potential defenses that you can raise in court in response to your traffic offense
- Negotiating a favorable plea deal with a state prosecutor to minimize the effects of a traffic ticket
- Reinstating your driving privileges
- Representing you at all legal proceedings (including a criminal bench or jury trial)
- Appealing your traffic conviction if you can do so
Our office is right in Downtown Akron at 520 South Main Street, Suite 2511, Akron, OH 44331. Let us fight for your legal rights and pursue a favorable result in your pending traffic case.
Potential Penalties and Consequences that May Result from a Traffic Offense
The potential penalties and consequences of a traffic offense depend upon various circumstances. One common factor affecting the consequences of a traffic case is the particular charge the individual faces. For you to receive penalties and other consequences in an Akron traffic offense case, the state prosecutor must satisfy their legal burden of proof.
If you incur a conviction on your traffic charge, you can receive legal penalties:
- Two points on your driver’s license
- Four points on your driver’s license
- Six points on your driver’s license
If you accumulate at least 12 points within a two-year timeframe, your driver’s license may be subject to suspension for 12 months. As a result, you may have difficulty taking care of your daily responsibilities and getting to and from work daily.
In addition to accumulating points on your driver’s license, a conviction for an Akron traffic offense may lead to monetary fines and high insurance premiums from your motor vehicle insurance company. Moreover, you can lose your CDL if you are a commercial driver.
In the case of severe traffic tickets, an individual may incur misdemeanor or other criminal charges, depending on the specific circumstances surrounding the offense.
Our experienced legal team will do everything possible to avoid these potential penalties for you. In addition, we can negotiate with the state prosecutor handling your case and argue for a favorable plea deal.
Common Traffic Offenses in Akron
Drivers in Akron can face charges of many traffic offenses. One of the most common traffic offenses that may result in a citation is speeding. In Ohio, as in other states, an individual may not drive a vehicle at a speed that exceeds the posted limit. Moreover, drivers may not exceed a reasonable speed in heavy traffic or bad weather.
Additionally, a driver in Akron may receive a citation for texting while driving. Specifically, a driver may not use a handheld cellular phone or other electronic device to draft, read, or send a text message. If they do, they may ultimately incur misdemeanor criminal charges.
It is also against the law in Ohio for a driver to run a stop sign or red light at a traffic intersection. Drivers have a duty to follow all traffic signs and obey all traffic control devices while they drive.
Additionally, drivers must have motor vehicle insurance in place for them to lawfully operate a motor vehicle.
Ohio requires minimum insurance coverage of:
- $25,000 for bodily injury or death per person
- $50,000 for bodily injury or death for more than one injured person in an accident
- $25,000 for property damage
If an individual operates their vehicle without these minimum coverage limits, they can face a criminal offense.
Finally, individuals who hold a CDL can face criminal charges if they violate a traffic law while they operate their commercial or private vehicle. In addition, their CDL may be subject to disqualification for between 60 days and life.
Drivers might also incur serious criminal penalties if they operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs (OVI). Most drivers are legally intoxicated if they have a blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, that meets or exceeds 0.08 percent. However, much stricter BAC limits apply to individuals under 21 years and those who are commercial vehicle operators, including tractor-trailer drivers.
If you are facing any of these traffic charges in Ohio, retain a qualified criminal defense lawyer in Akron to represent you as quickly as possible.
The Akron traffic offense attorneys at Patituce & Associates, LLC can handle every aspect of your case and determine if you may raise one or more legal defenses to your pending traffic charge. If so, we can argue the appropriate defense in court or negotiate with the state prosecutor for a favorable plea deal on your behalf.
Common Defenses to a Traffic Charge
In a criminal traffic case, the state prosecutor handling the case has the legal burden of proof. In addition, to secure a guilty finding or conviction against you, the prosecutor has to satisfy all of the legal elements of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
You can raise a robust legal defense to your charge that may prevent the prosecutor from fully satisfying their very high burden of proof. If so, the court may dismiss your entire traffic case.
The legal defense or defenses we can raise in your case will depend on the specific traffic charge you face. In some traffic offense cases, we can argue that the police officer violated your Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable and unlawful searches and seizures, such as if they lacked the necessary reasonable suspicion or probable cause to pull your vehicle over in the first place.
If you’re facing a charge for running a red light or another similar traffic offense, we can find video footage showing you did not violate the law.
Finally, in a drunk driving case, such as a DUI case, we can find evidence showing that the Breathalyzer that the police officer used malfunctioned – or that the responding officer administered a field sobriety test incorrectly.
If applicable, we might also demonstrate that you suffered from a medical or balance condition that prevented you from passing a field sobriety test.
Our legal team will do everything possible to prepare and raise a strong legal defense at your criminal court proceeding and work to obtain a complete dismissal of your traffic case.
Our Akron, Ohio, Law Office is Prepared to Serve You
Patituce & Associates is conveniently located in Downtown Akron at 520 S Main Street, Suite 2511, Akron, OH 44331. Visit our office or reach out to us by phone or on our website, and a member of our team will contact you right away to discuss your potential case.
Negotiating with the State Prosecutor in Your Case
In some cases that involve traffic offenses, especially those involving misdemeanor or felony charges, we can secure a favorable plea deal from the state prosecutor on your behalf.
In a plea deal arrangement, the prosecutor might agree to a charge reduction, a period of probation, or some other concession in exchange for a guilty plea from the accused individual. For example, if the prosecutor offers the accused person probation, any conviction on their record might go away if they successfully complete all the required probationary terms.
In some cases, plea deals can be advantageous for the accused person. However, at other times, the accused individual might be better off raising a defense to their traffic charge at a criminal trial. Plea deals also come with several detriments, including an inability to appeal the case result and a jury trial waiver. Our legal team can work with the prosecutor handling your case to negotiate a plea deal that is favorable and advantageous to you. We can advise whether you should accept a pending plea deal, continue negotiating with the state prosecutor, or take your case to trial and raise a solid legal defense to the pending charge.
If you decide to accept a plea deal from the state prosecutor, you must attend a hearing before a judge. During that hearing, you will state on the record that no one coerced you into the plea deal and that you are entering into the plea deal freely, willingly, and voluntarily. The judge will then accept your plea deal on the record.
Steps to Take after Receiving a Traffic Citation
For some traffic citations, you can simply pay a fine. However, you might give up other legal rights and privileges by doing this. For example, the state may suspend your driver’s license. Moreover, some traffic citations are must-appear offenses, meaning the individual who receives the citation must appear in court on a specified court date.
After receiving a traffic citation, do not argue with or become belligerent with the arresting officer. That only makes a bad situation worse. Moreover, if a police officer arrests you for DUI or some other serious criminal offense, you should invoke your right to the presence of legal counsel during any questioning.
Before you pay any traffic citation or otherwise respond to a traffic citation, you should speak with a knowledgeable Akron traffic offense lawyer at Patituce & Associates, LLC. Our legal team can advise you on the next steps that you should take and determine if you may raise one or more legal defenses at a court proceeding. In addition, we can represent you at all court proceedings in your case, advocate on your behalf, and secure the best possible result.
Speak with an Experienced Akron Traffic Offense Lawyer Today
At first, people might say that traffic violations are not a serious matter. Still, as we have discussed, traffic violations can have costly effects and even affect a person’s professional life.
The consequences of traffic citations can sneak up on you, so hire the right defense whenever you face a violation. If you face criminal charges related to driving, the serious penalties can have costly effects on your future.
At Patituce & Associates, LLC, our legal team can aggressively fight for your legal rights and interests and pursue and achieve the best possible result in your case. We handle traffic offenses for many clients, and we can assess your options.
For your free case evaluation and legal consultation with a skilled Akron traffic offense attorney, please call us at (440) 641-4434 or contact us online to learn more.
Patituce & Associates, LCC – Akron Office
520 S Main Street, Suite 2511
Akron, OH 44331