Suggestions for out of state ticket in NC

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gotricked

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I recently recieved a ticket for travelling 85mph in a 70 mph zone in Halifax County, NC. I reside in SC and have a SC license. I recieved the ticket while on my way to VA. I would like to prevent the need to return to NC for the court date. I called the Magistrate's office and they said that I can go to court earlier but only if I agree to plead guilty.

Am I eligible for the Prayer for Judgement? I have a clean driving record, no tickets or anything in approx. 8 years. I did not realize that travelling in excess of 80mph was a felony. This may impact my ability to retain my employment if I am convicted of a felony.

I welcome any and all suggestions and appreciate everyone's time with this issue. Thank you in advance.

R
 
Hey R,

I'm not a lawyer, so take this with a shaker of salt (and lime, if you got it):

I didn't realize it was a felony either. I do know that driving 15 mph over the limit in NC can result in losing your license for at least 30 days (if it's an NC license, that is, not sure if anything happens to your SC license). If you go to court on your court date, the DA will usually plea it down to a lesser offense, and you can pay your fine and go home. If you don't want to be there, you might should hire a lawyer to be there for you.

What you probably shouldn't do is just plead guilty to 15 over the limit, send in your fine by mail (don't know if that's even an option in your case), or fail to appear in court. I don't know if a PFJ is even necessary here, as the DA will usually work with you to lower the offense. If the DA doesn't do so, then a PFJ would probably work. Anything to keep a felony off your record. But no matter what, either you or your attorney will need to be in NC on the court date, I don't think there's a way around that in this instance.

Good luck!
 
My understanding is that if you can get it down to an under ten violation it will not be reported back to SC. Probably worth retaining an attorney and you should verify that info.
Send me an email if you need an attorney reference but you should get several in the mail once the court enters the ticket.
 
Thanks to everyone for you assistance and time. Here is an update on my situation.

I spoke with the DA's office and they agreed to speak with me in the morning before court (this was not my original court date, since I was on my way back to SC they said I could stop in). The DA's office instructed me to go down to the clerk's office (same building) and have my case added to the docket for the day. Upon visiting the clerk's office one of the clerks told me to make certain that I did not plead guilty to this charge and to speak with the DA in the courtroom before court started to ask for an amendment.

Upon being allowed to enter the courtroom I walked to the DA's desk and stated my situation and provided a copy of my citation, she said that she would address it when the time came.

When they called my name the DA asked me to come to her desk and she amended the ticket to what appeared to be a wreckless driving charge with no points. The Judge did not assess any fines and all I had to pay was court cost ($110).

I am extremely happy with the outcome and I will definetly watch my speed in NC. I hope my experience is able to provide some level of assistance to others and thanks again to those that responded with thier advice.
 
I registered here to ask almost the exact same question.

I received a ticket for 80 in a 70 in Halifax as well, but I just had my court date continued again to 8/8/06. Ideally I would like to get this reduced to a fine only, or prevent it from being reported to VA, my residence.

How did you get in contact with the DA, and/or what steps do you think I should take to follow a similar track?
 
My next question is what exactly did you propose or say to the DA? Did you ask to plea to a lesser charge, or what words did you use?
 
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