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Yes, if you are pulled over and the officer finds a drugs or drug paraphernalia in your vehicle, this charge of possession will stay on your driving record permanently. Unless you hire an experienced lawyer to negotiate some sort of deal with the prosecuting attorney to get the drug charges reduced to a lesser charge. Because if you simply pay the fine and associated costs, then this infraction will stay on your record permanently.

There are a few driving-related convictions that stay on your record permanently, such as a drug- or alcohol-related offense, DUI/DWI, driving without insurance, driving without a license, or driving on a suspended or revoked license, to name a few. Having such convictions on your permanent record can have a very negative effect on your future. Whenever you apply for a job, or fill out a rental application, or even request a line of credit from the bank, you may very well be asked if you have ever been convicted of one of the offenses listed above. And this can have a measurable impact on whether or not you get the job or the apartment.

But an experienced attorney can help you tremendously in this kind of situation. Let’s say you are pulled over for speeding. Once the police officer begins to write the ticket, he notices a bag of marijuana or a pipe. Not only do you get a ticket for driving in excess of the posted limits, you could also be arrested for drug and/or drug paraphernalia possession. But as mentioned above, your lawyer can work with the prosecutor to get the charges lowered to a lesser offense, for both the drugs (down to something like ‘littering’) and the speeding ticket (down to some sort of non-moving violation like ‘excess noise’). Making sure that these infractions are amended to a lower charge is not only a good idea for your future, it can save you quite a bit of hassle and headache in the short term as well.

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Posted in: Drug Possession
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Yes, in some circumstances you can. By doing so, you will save quite a bit of future hassle, time, and money, as you will avoid things like increases of your automobile insurance and revocation of your driving license. Hiring an experienced attorney can help in this endeavor tremendously.

When you get pulled over for a traffic violation (like speeding, lane change violation, driving without proof of insurance, etc.) you will almost certainly be issued a citation. This citation (i.e. ticket) can be handled by your simply signing the back of the document and paying the associated fine to the proper court. Doing so will take care of the ticket itself and avoid you having to go to court (or deal with a warrant for not paying the fine). But the problem with this option is that for every time you plead guilty to a speeding ticket in Missouri, a certain number of ‘points’ are assessed against your driving record.

Points are like strikes against your record that can have a negative impact on your license. If enough points accumulate over a period of time, you can actually have your driver’s license suspended or revoked. So if your license was suspended or revoked because of too many points on driving record, a knowledgeable lawyer can file a motion with the court to have the original plea of guilty withdrawn. Once the plea is successfully withdrawn, your attorney can then negotiate with the prosecutor to have the speeding ticket reduced to a non-moving violation. This in turn would allow the attorney to have the points removed from your record, and get the suspension lifted.

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Yes, there is a very good chance that you would go to jail if there is a warrant for your arrest that is still active. If a police officer was to pull you over, or question you, or in some way come into contact with you, and he/she ran your information through the station, they would be made aware of the warrant. And in all likelihood, the officer will arrest you on the spot.

When you are pulled over for speeding in excess of the posted limits, you most frequently will receive a citation for speeding. The small, rectangular document provides you with all the pertinent information you need to know about the infraction, court dates, and the amount of the fine. One option available to you is to simply sign the back of the ticket and pay the associated fine. But if you fail to do so (because you forget, or you shove in the back of your glove compartment, or you think it is was given to you erroneously and you just do not want to deal with it), and the court date for the ticket comes and goes without you making an appearance, then the judge will issue a bench warrant for your arrest.

At this point, it becomes a game of risk. Because every time you operate a motor vehicle thereafter, you are risking a subsequent stop by the police (at which time you will likely be arrested). But there is a way to prevent that from happening. An experienced attorney can get the warrant lifted (by entering as your lawyer on the case, and convincing the judge to release his or her warrant for your arrest), and then negotiate with the prosecutor to get the underlying ticket amended (or reduced) to a non-moving violation. By getting the ticket reduced, no points will be assessed against your driving record. The more points you receive, the worse things become. This is because your automobile insurance can rise dramatically as a result, and with of lot of points over a short period of time, you could possibly lose your license to drive. Avoiding this outcome should be the highest priority for you, because this can have a tremendous impact on your ability to get to work, to school, or the grocery store.

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Posted in: Arrest Warrant
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This is a more difficult situation than a regular speeding ticket that you might receive, because the whole purpose of having a reduced speed limit in the construction zone is to protect the men and women who are working on site. But there are several things that an experienced attorney can do to help.

Construction zones in St. Louis are set up for the safety of both the workers and for the people driving cars through the zone. Over the years, a number of construction workers have been hit while on the job, and this has lead local and state officials to impose stricter fines and speed limitations in these zones. So if you are pulled over in such a zone for traveling over the posted speed limit, you can expect a much higher fine than usual.

But if you simply sign the ticket (in which case you are pleading guilty) and pay the associated fine, then a larger than normal amount of points will be assessed against your driving record. These points (which should be thought of as “strikes” because they are negative marks against you) pile up over time and can result much higher rates of insurance (because the more points you have, the carrier will think of you as a much bigger risk, which almost always end up with you paying higher monthly premiums), or even potentially the loss of your driving privileges (like a suspension or revocation of your license).

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Although it has a fancy name, the ticket still works the same way as a regular ticket. The only difference is that the fine is usually a lot higher than a traffic ticket you might get elsewhere in the city. But the strategy remains the same: contacting an experienced lawyer to handle the ticket so that it does not do too much damage should be your goal.

“ARC” stands for Accident Reduction Corridor. It is a stretch of highway on I-70 through St. Louis (covering the municipalities of St. Ann, Berkeley, Cool Valley, Edmundson, Normandy, Northwoods, Woodson Terrace, and Pine Lawn). This section of highway has proven statistically to be an area in which a higher number of accidents have occurred. The participating cities have established this zone in an attempt to reduce the number of vehicular accidents.

So if you are pulled over in the ARC Zone, and you received a citation for speeding, the officer is still going to give you a ticket that looks exactly like any other traffic ticket. But because the infraction occurred in the zone, the fine will be higher. An ARC ticket (like any other ticket) is a legal document that can greatly impact your automobile insurance. Each time you get a ticket, a certain number of points are assessed. These points are put on your driving record. As points build up over time, your insurance rates go up. And if enough points are assessed over a short period of time, you could possibly lose your license to drive.

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Yes, there is a possibility to still drive to work or school if your driver’s license has been suspended. But there are very specific rules that govern how the suspension works in the state of Missouri. This means that it is absolutely in your best interest to find an experienced traffic attorney to help you in the process.

If your license has been suspended, it is most likely due to having accumulated too many points on your driving record. You are assessed points when you receive a traffic citation for having violated the motor vehicle laws in Missouri. The term ‘points’ is a bit of a misnomer, though. When people initially hear that word, they automatically think that it is something good (like scoring points for your team). But in the context of traffic tickets (like speeding, illegal lane change, etc.), points are a bad thing (and you should really think of them as strikes). The more points that accumulate in a short period of time, the greater the likelihood that you will have your license suspended (or even revoked). In addition, it is also a really good way to have your automobile insurance go up (which is just another added expense to your already difficult budget).

But if this has happened, and your license has been suspended as a result, then you can apply for what is called a Restricted Driving Permit. This permit can be had if you have served at least thirty (30) days of your license suspension. It will allow you to drive for the limited purposes of getting to work, school, medical appointments, and other essential daily activities. You do not have to fill out any special form for this, as your local motor vehicle office can issue the permit on its own. But you will have to provide them with what is called an SR-22 form, which shows that you have proper vehicular insurance to drive. This restricted driving permit is valid for sixty (60) days’ time.

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The short answer is that you need to hire an experienced lawyer in order to take care of your situation so that it does not get any worse. Because one potential outcome (particularly if the ticket has not been paid) is that a warrant will be issued for your arrest. But this is not the course of events that have to take place.

When you are pulled over for having violated a traffic law, the police officer will almost certainly cite you with a ticket. The ticket will indicate the precise infraction for which you have been pulled over, the court date and time, and the amount of the fine. One option is to simply sign the ticket and pay the fine, but of course doing so will result in ‘points’ being applied to your driving record (these are negative marks indicating bad driving). This in turn will cause your automobile insurance to rise (because your carrier will deem you more of a risk). But your attorney can get the ticket reduced to a non-moving violation. Such violations do not negatively affect your insurance, because these kinds of infractions do not go on your permanent driving record.

But if in fact you received a speeding ticket in Missouri, and for whatever reason you did not take care of it (by either calling a lawyer or paying the associated fine), and your court date comes and goes without you making an appearance, the judge will undoubtedly issue a bench warrant for your arrest. This means that if you are subsequently pulled over while driving (or if you for some reason are questioned by the police), the officer will see that the warrants are active and will be duty bound to arrest you. This will land you in jail, and you almost certainly will not be released unless or until the underlying tickets are paid for.

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Assuming you want to get your privileges back, there are a few things you should do in such a situation. The state of Missouri will allow the opportunity to reinstate your driver’s license, but it depends on why your privileges were revoked in the first place.

Let’s say you have had your license suspended or revoked because of too many points on your record from speeding tickets (each time you are cited for a traffic violation, a certain number of points are assessed against your driving record; as they build up over time, the state will eventually impose a stiffer penalty). This can happen in a number of ways, but here a few examples: if you accumulate eight (8) points in eighteen (18) months, your driving privileges will be suspended for thirty (30) days if it is the first suspension, sixty (60) days if it is the second suspension, and ninety (90) days if it is the third suspension. If you accumulate twelve (12) points in twelve (12) months, eighteen (18) points in twenty-four (24) months, or twenty-four (24) points in thirty-six (36) months, your driving privileges will be revoked for one year.

If this is the situation in which you find yourself, the procedure moving forward would to file an SR-22 form (which proves up automobile insurance), and maintain such proof of liability insurance for two years from the starting date of your suspension/revocation, and pay a $20.00 fine.

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Yes, an officer can do that if he/she deems the situation calls for it. A common example would be when you get pulled over for speeding, and when the policeman asks to see your proof of insurance, you realize that you have forgotten where it is. This is a great opportunity for the officer to write two citations (one for driving in excess of the posted speed limit, and no proof of automobile insurance).

Of course, this does not mean that your license is going to be taken away from you. Even the best of us get caught from time to time speeding; and it’s not terribly unusual for someone to forget to put their new insurance card in the glove compartment. And the courts recognize this fact, which is exactly why they give you the chance to make up for it.

At this point, you have three choices: 1) you can simply sign the back of the ticket, pay the associated fine, and be done with it; 2) you can try and challenge the ticket in court at a designated hearing, in front of the judge and against the prosecutor; or 3) you can hire an experienced attorney to take care of everything for you.

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While it may seem as if it is cheaper to simply pay the fine for your traffic ticket once you receive it, it is actually cheaper in the long run if you have an experienced attorney take care of it for you. Let me explain why.

Let’s say you are pulled over for speeding (I use this as my example because it is probably the most frequent thing for which people are stopped). The citation itself will provide you with an opportunity to take care of the ticket by signing the back of it, and mailing in the appropriate dollar fine. This will ensure that the ticket will no longer be outstanding (and therefore no risk of a warrant for your arrest being issued). But by signing the ticket and paying the associated fine, you are pleading guilty to the infraction, and a number of other negative things occur as a result (that you are not made aware of).

When you simply pay the associated fine for the speeding ticket, it will then go on your driving record by way of a ‘points’ system. A certain number of points (which should really be thought of as ‘strikes’ against you) are put on your record based on the type of infraction. Speeding typically will get you two (2) points, unless you are pulled over by a highway patrolman, in which case three (3) points are assessed. As these points begin to accumulate, your automobile insurance will consistently raise your insurance premium (because if there is one thing that an insurance company is good at, its raising your rates; and they are always looking for an excuse to do just that). In addition, it is also possible (depending on how frequently you get pulled over) that you could have your license suspended or revoked for several months up to a year. Reinstating your license thereafter is very time consuming and costly.

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