Traffic Ticket Answers - Las Vegas, Nevada
Originally published on Thursday, November 27, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com.
As in many services, competitors race to the lowest price to charge and still provide the service. The result is to turn the service in to a commodity - commonly known as “commoditization.” In many regards this is good for the person seeking help when the quality of the service, generally speaking, will produce similar results. A good example is assistance with traffic citations. (See my blog entry for June 22, 2008 regarding this exact point.) Competition causes service providers to streamline their processes, and thus benefit the customer by providing lower prices.
Assistance for individuals charged with DUI in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson, over the past few years have been commoditized. This may not be bad. The individual seeking assistance from an attorney for a DUI should know how many attorneys are competing on price and the services provided. Generally speaking, DUI defense has evolved into two levels of assistance, The FIRST level of representation generally revolves around negotiating a plea with a city or district attorney, or the SECOND level of representation is full-on preparation for trial. An attorney’s level of advocacy between the two could be surprising for the unsuspecting individual looking for assistance in defending a DUI.
The reader should note, the discussion below is provided in general terms ONLY. The facts and circumstances of each DUI case varies, so an attorney may perform more or less work than described below. Furthermore, my colleagues may provide less or additional services at different hourly rates. The discussion is provided to give the reader a general overview of what happens at the different levels of representation.
Under the FIRST level of representation, generally speaking, the attorney will appear at 2 or 3 hearings before the court (different courts have different procedures), obtain documents from the prosecutor (legal-eeze - “discovery”), review the discovery, possibly investigate matters related to the defense of the DUI, speak to the client about what has been discovered, give an opinion on the options, negotiate a plea with the prosecutor, and attend with the client the allocution (this is the procedure a judge follows to accept a guilty plea in a criminal action. This process usually consists of the judge asking the defendant a series of questions designed to assure the judge that the defendant understands the charges, is guilty of the crime accused of, understands the consequences of a guilty plea, that the defendant is entitled to a trial, and is voluntarily entering the plea.). What you need to know is that at the FIRST level of representation, the Attorney is not preparing for trial and will likely attempt to negotiate a plea for a lower charge.
Under the FIRST level of representation, any attorney worth his/her weight in salt will, with the limited facts obtained, negotiate toward the best deal possible for the accused. Depending upon the facts and circumstances, the minimum requirements of DUI may be the best negotiated deal obtained for you. As such, persons accused of DUI should understand that hiring an attorney to negotiate does not guarantee a plea for a lesser charge such as reckless driving.
Under the SECOND level of representation, generally speaking, the attorney will do most of, or all of the FIRST level of representation, but more in-depth and prepare for trial. Generally speaking, in addition to obtaining the discovery from the prosecution, the attorney may consider medical defenses that could produce false-positives for the breathalyzer or blood tests, chain-of-custody issues, technical attacks on procedures the police used to obtain probable cause to stop you in the first place and implementation of sobriety tests, attacks on the credibility of the officer on the stand, and etc. Additionally, experts will likely be hired to prepare for and testify at trial supporting a defense. The attorney may have exhibits produced to be shown at trial. You should note that after the attorney performs additional discovery with the intention of taking a defense to trial, that the prosecution may offer a plea for an accused to possibly accept. Depending upon the facts and circumstances of the case, the accused may still want to take a plea after consultation with the attorney. If the plea is not accepted, then the accused will have a day in court to present a defense.
As you can see, the SECOND level of representation is much broader and robust than the FIRST. As such, the fees and costs for the SECOND level are much greater - by thousands of dollars. Under the FIRST level of representation, the attorney knows well how much time will be spent representing the client. Under the SECOND, while time can be estimated, time cannot be known as in the FIRST. Medical experts are very expensive - around $400/hour and more to review documents and testify in court. Some experts require a large retainer and may charge more to testify in court. If an expert (whether technical or medical) is brought from another state, expect to pay the costs of flight, hotel room, meals and miscellaneous expense. Some experts will fly only first class, stay in only a very nice hotel room, and eat only expensive food. What you may not know is that experts charge their hourly rate while waiting to testify. So your expert could be sitting outside the court waiting for hours to testify. Your representing attorney will likely not front these expert expenses. This leaves you with the bill. In addition to the expert fees, your attorney will likely perform more discovery. This takes time, the result is additional attorney fees at a few hundred dollars per hour. Next, preparation for trial takes time to coordinate your defense, and to cross examine the police officer and any experts the prosecution may put on the stand.
I am sure as you read the previous paragraph that you heard dollar signs ringing in your head and envisioned your bank account going down or your credit card balance going up. So when you see advertised amounts for DUI representation for flat fees of$1,500, $1,400, or mine of $1,200, the FIRST level of representation is likely what is offered. If the attorney expects a deposit of $5,000 or more and he/she talks about experts and etc., you are talking about the SECOND level.
At this point reality likely sets in. The client needs to weigh whether the job (do you make a living by driving, flying, or are a brain surgeon, etc) or other factors required in life that demands the SECOND level of representation. Many people who come to my office can barely pay the fees for the FIRST level of representation, let a lone the SECOND. So, economics many times becomes the dominating factor.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (702) 933-4248.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Las Vegas Justice Court says, Amnesty “Pay Tickets by February 6, 2009”
Traffic Ticket Answers - Las Vegas, Nevada
Originally published on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com
The Las Vegas Justice Court (LVJC) announced on Friday, November 14th, 2008 that it will allow all outstanding late traffic tickets to be paid by February 6, 2009. After that point LVJC will begin enforcing arrest warrants for failure to Pay. LVJC will issue two types of warrants for your arrest: 1) for failure to appear (FTA), and 2) failure to pay (FTP). FTA essentially means you did not show up for the original date shown on your traffic ticket and therefore your matter has not been resolved. Call for more information, we can help you in the regular course of business. FTP means that your matter has been adjudicated and all that remains is for you to pay or do what the court told you to do (traffic school, community service, etc.) If you can’t pay all amounts before that date, call, we may be able to get you an extension of time to pay or a payment plan.
Please note, LVJC is the ONLY court offering amnesty at this time, NOT Las Vegas Municipal Court, Henderson Justice Court, Henderson Municipal Court, North Las Vegas Municipal Court, nor North Las Vegas Justice Court.
For further information, call us at (702) 933-4248.
Here is what I think is really going on. For the past couple of years LVJC has not been enforcing warrants because it has been converting to a new computer system and software. It did not feel confident that the system was sufficiently accurate, so it was not enforcing warrants. However, with the recent downturn in the economy, significant budget cuts coming from the state, and the fact that the bugs in the computer system are now worked out, the outstanding $135,000,000 in traffic citation fines will go a long way to filling the coffers of Clark County.
PLEASE NOTE: ON NOVEMBER 24, 2008 I REVISED THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGE OF MY BLOG ENTRY AFTER LEARNING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM A READER OF MY BLOG WHO IS A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WITH CLARK COUNTY, AND IN MY OPINION IS CREDIBLE.
This is what will likely happen after February 6, 2009: The LVJC will issue warrants for individuals who failed to pay and law enforcement officers will be sent to individuals’ homes to collect amounts. The officer will arrive armed with a weapon and handcuffs. They will also will have a machine ready to swipe your credit card (you better make sure they take American Express and or Discover). I am sure they will also take cash. You will be given an option to pay all or part of what is due. If you pay only part, the officer will set a date in the future (I am guessing 60 days) for you to appear in the LVJC to explain why you have not paid the full amount, and to possibly arrange to be placed back on a payment plan. If you “show good faith” (what this means is yet to be determined) you will not be arrested. In part, I understand, “showing good faith” means that you will need to pay some amount that is greater than a nominal.
While the Constable only wants to collect fines you owe for your traffic tickets (which means they really do not want to arrest you), if you do not pay what you owe, or do not show good faith, expect to be arrested.
For those who wish to spend time in jail instead of paying amounts owed for traffic citations, I understand courts in Clark County are allowing a $60.00 / day credit. So do the math, if you owe $600.00, expect to spend 10 days away from your family, friends and work with cellmates you likely have not met before.
As I gain more detail about how LVJC will handle this type of situation, I will keep you informed.
Originally published on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com
The Las Vegas Justice Court (LVJC) announced on Friday, November 14th, 2008 that it will allow all outstanding late traffic tickets to be paid by February 6, 2009. After that point LVJC will begin enforcing arrest warrants for failure to Pay. LVJC will issue two types of warrants for your arrest: 1) for failure to appear (FTA), and 2) failure to pay (FTP). FTA essentially means you did not show up for the original date shown on your traffic ticket and therefore your matter has not been resolved. Call for more information, we can help you in the regular course of business. FTP means that your matter has been adjudicated and all that remains is for you to pay or do what the court told you to do (traffic school, community service, etc.) If you can’t pay all amounts before that date, call, we may be able to get you an extension of time to pay or a payment plan.
Please note, LVJC is the ONLY court offering amnesty at this time, NOT Las Vegas Municipal Court, Henderson Justice Court, Henderson Municipal Court, North Las Vegas Municipal Court, nor North Las Vegas Justice Court.
For further information, call us at (702) 933-4248.
Here is what I think is really going on. For the past couple of years LVJC has not been enforcing warrants because it has been converting to a new computer system and software. It did not feel confident that the system was sufficiently accurate, so it was not enforcing warrants. However, with the recent downturn in the economy, significant budget cuts coming from the state, and the fact that the bugs in the computer system are now worked out, the outstanding $135,000,000 in traffic citation fines will go a long way to filling the coffers of Clark County.
PLEASE NOTE: ON NOVEMBER 24, 2008 I REVISED THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGE OF MY BLOG ENTRY AFTER LEARNING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM A READER OF MY BLOG WHO IS A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WITH CLARK COUNTY, AND IN MY OPINION IS CREDIBLE.
This is what will likely happen after February 6, 2009: The LVJC will issue warrants for individuals who failed to pay and law enforcement officers will be sent to individuals’ homes to collect amounts. The officer will arrive armed with a weapon and handcuffs. They will also will have a machine ready to swipe your credit card (you better make sure they take American Express and or Discover). I am sure they will also take cash. You will be given an option to pay all or part of what is due. If you pay only part, the officer will set a date in the future (I am guessing 60 days) for you to appear in the LVJC to explain why you have not paid the full amount, and to possibly arrange to be placed back on a payment plan. If you “show good faith” (what this means is yet to be determined) you will not be arrested. In part, I understand, “showing good faith” means that you will need to pay some amount that is greater than a nominal.
While the Constable only wants to collect fines you owe for your traffic tickets (which means they really do not want to arrest you), if you do not pay what you owe, or do not show good faith, expect to be arrested.
For those who wish to spend time in jail instead of paying amounts owed for traffic citations, I understand courts in Clark County are allowing a $60.00 / day credit. So do the math, if you owe $600.00, expect to spend 10 days away from your family, friends and work with cellmates you likely have not met before.
As I gain more detail about how LVJC will handle this type of situation, I will keep you informed.
Keep your seatbelt on when stopped.
Traffic Ticket Answers - Las Vegas, Nevada
Originally published on Thursday, August 14, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com.
Recently I have had a lot of clients complain that the seatbelt citation that they received was not correct; that he or she had the seatbelt on when stopped. Here is the typical scenario: a policeman stops a driver for whatever violation. Then while the police approaches the vehicle, the driver takes off the seatbelt to reach into the glove box to get the insurance and registration to show to the officer. When the officer walks up to the vehicle he or she sees the driver with the seatbelt off. Lesson learned, keep your seatbelt on until the police officer see it across your lap, then get your insurance and registration. FYI - Courts are enforcing public policy for a driver having no seatbelt. The fine is usually $67.00. The Courts want your seatbelt on.
Originally published on Thursday, August 14, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com.
Recently I have had a lot of clients complain that the seatbelt citation that they received was not correct; that he or she had the seatbelt on when stopped. Here is the typical scenario: a policeman stops a driver for whatever violation. Then while the police approaches the vehicle, the driver takes off the seatbelt to reach into the glove box to get the insurance and registration to show to the officer. When the officer walks up to the vehicle he or she sees the driver with the seatbelt off. Lesson learned, keep your seatbelt on until the police officer see it across your lap, then get your insurance and registration. FYI - Courts are enforcing public policy for a driver having no seatbelt. The fine is usually $67.00. The Courts want your seatbelt on.
Do you really want to sit with all these people?
Traffic Ticket Answers - Las Vegas, Nevada
Originally published on Friday, August 8, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com.
While I was waiting for my turn to speak to the clerks for the the Las Vegas Township Justice Court and the Las Vegas Municipal Court, I thought I would snap this shot for you. The photo was taken Friday, August 8, 2008, at approximately 4:30 p.m. Notice in the back ground how many windows are closed. This photo shows approximately 10 service windows available to help you, but only 4 are open. All-in-all this area of the Regional Justice Center in down town Las Vegas has approximately 28 services windows. While more windows are often open, you still end up waiting a while. Find a seat in this photo. I ended up standing while waiting for my turn. The day before while I was waiting, I accidently sat in freshly placed gum. Yuck!
ETrafficCitation is operated by an attorney, which is unlike other traffic citation resolution businesses in Las Vegas, Nevada
Traffic Ticket Answers - Las Vegas, Nevada
Originally published on Friday, August 1, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com
I, Kirk D. Kaplan, Esq. (Nevada Bar Number 5685) own and operate ETrafficCitation. This is unlike several other traffic ticket resolution businesses in Las Vegas.
If you come into my office at 6480 W. Spring Mountain Road, Suite 4, Las Vegas, Nevada, if I am not in court or in a client meeting, you will likely be able to speak to me personally about your matter. This is unlike many other traffic citation resolution businesses in Nevada. Please understand that other traffic citation businesses exist that are attorney owned and run. But the trick is for you to find out which ones are.
Questions you need to ask when requesting assistance from a traffic ticket resolution business are: “Are you owned an run by a licensed attorney?” “If so what is the name and bar number of the attorney? “How long has the attorney owned and operated the business?” “What is the address of the attorney’s office? Then, if you want to make sure of the truthfulness of what is told to you, call the State Bar of Nevada at (702) 382-2200 and ask to speak to someone in Ethics Department. Tell the Ethics department of your conversation and see what the Ethics Department says. You should also check the consistency of the information given to you from the traffic citation resolution business. For example, if the address of the attorney is different from the location of the traffic ticket resolution business, this may be an indication that an attorney does not own the traffic ticket resolution business. Here is the logic: While attorneys may have several locations (some do for legitimate purposes such as estate planning attorneys desiring to be close to senior clients in Summerlin and in Henderson), most attorneys do not because the cost of overhead for rent, utilities, and the purchase of additional equipment such as copy machines his expensive. This is one example that may indicate the sham. Techniques find out whether an attorney owns the traffic citation resolution business are are too numerous to list here. Use your head and I bet you can find out what is really happening behind the scenes.
Currently, the State Bar is investigating several traffic ticket resolution business in Las Vegas because of a sham business structures. Here is the sham, I call the structure a SCAM:
Behind the scenes the business is owned by a person who is not licensed as an attorney in Nevada. This structure is intended to be invisible to the public because the real owner does not want the public to know what is really happening. In todays world that demands clarity and transparency, this type of structure is meant to deceive you. At my office, transparency exists, period.
The business then hires an attorney to appear in court for the non attorney owed business on traffic citation.
When the attorney returns from the court, the results are likely handed off to a non formally trained person to translate the legalize into English for the customer. At this stage communications is likely sent to the client that does not contain an original signature of the attorney. In my office, I sign all correspondence to clients communicating the result of your traffic citation. My signature indicates that I have reviewed your file and that I approve the communications of the results to you.
As is typical in all business, likely a negotiating process takes place where the traffic ticket resolution business tries to bid down fees paid to the attorney for appearing. This is because the business only needs the attorney appear in court because only licensed attorneys in Nevada may appear in Nevada courts. This structure is a purposeful end-run around law established to protect the public. The rub is that non attorney owned business probably believes that not much work is needed on the part of the attorney, so it does not want to pay much to the attorney to perform the work. If this is so, than the attorney appearing for the citation resolution business will likely not be very motivated to pay attention to your matter. A possible effect is poor results on your traffic citation. In my office, my motivation is to provide you with representation. I do not have the bid-down conflict of interest that may interfere with your matter.
Originally published on Friday, August 1, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com
I, Kirk D. Kaplan, Esq. (Nevada Bar Number 5685) own and operate ETrafficCitation. This is unlike several other traffic ticket resolution businesses in Las Vegas.
If you come into my office at 6480 W. Spring Mountain Road, Suite 4, Las Vegas, Nevada, if I am not in court or in a client meeting, you will likely be able to speak to me personally about your matter. This is unlike many other traffic citation resolution businesses in Nevada. Please understand that other traffic citation businesses exist that are attorney owned and run. But the trick is for you to find out which ones are.
Questions you need to ask when requesting assistance from a traffic ticket resolution business are: “Are you owned an run by a licensed attorney?” “If so what is the name and bar number of the attorney? “How long has the attorney owned and operated the business?” “What is the address of the attorney’s office? Then, if you want to make sure of the truthfulness of what is told to you, call the State Bar of Nevada at (702) 382-2200 and ask to speak to someone in Ethics Department. Tell the Ethics department of your conversation and see what the Ethics Department says. You should also check the consistency of the information given to you from the traffic citation resolution business. For example, if the address of the attorney is different from the location of the traffic ticket resolution business, this may be an indication that an attorney does not own the traffic ticket resolution business. Here is the logic: While attorneys may have several locations (some do for legitimate purposes such as estate planning attorneys desiring to be close to senior clients in Summerlin and in Henderson), most attorneys do not because the cost of overhead for rent, utilities, and the purchase of additional equipment such as copy machines his expensive. This is one example that may indicate the sham. Techniques find out whether an attorney owns the traffic citation resolution business are are too numerous to list here. Use your head and I bet you can find out what is really happening behind the scenes.
Currently, the State Bar is investigating several traffic ticket resolution business in Las Vegas because of a sham business structures. Here is the sham, I call the structure a SCAM:
Behind the scenes the business is owned by a person who is not licensed as an attorney in Nevada. This structure is intended to be invisible to the public because the real owner does not want the public to know what is really happening. In todays world that demands clarity and transparency, this type of structure is meant to deceive you. At my office, transparency exists, period.
The business then hires an attorney to appear in court for the non attorney owed business on traffic citation.
When the attorney returns from the court, the results are likely handed off to a non formally trained person to translate the legalize into English for the customer. At this stage communications is likely sent to the client that does not contain an original signature of the attorney. In my office, I sign all correspondence to clients communicating the result of your traffic citation. My signature indicates that I have reviewed your file and that I approve the communications of the results to you.
As is typical in all business, likely a negotiating process takes place where the traffic ticket resolution business tries to bid down fees paid to the attorney for appearing. This is because the business only needs the attorney appear in court because only licensed attorneys in Nevada may appear in Nevada courts. This structure is a purposeful end-run around law established to protect the public. The rub is that non attorney owned business probably believes that not much work is needed on the part of the attorney, so it does not want to pay much to the attorney to perform the work. If this is so, than the attorney appearing for the citation resolution business will likely not be very motivated to pay attention to your matter. A possible effect is poor results on your traffic citation. In my office, my motivation is to provide you with representation. I do not have the bid-down conflict of interest that may interfere with your matter.
What Everyone Wants When Asking For Help with a Traffic Ticket.
Originally published on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com.
When potential customers call to inquire how we can help, they typically want a guarantee of the following:
That he/she receives no demerits.
That information is not sent to his/her insurance company.
That the fines, if any, will be reduced.
Not to tell their spouse or parents.
We DO NOT GUARANTEE court results. In fact no traffic ticket resolution service can legitimately guarantee results. A “guarantee” in this regard is just a sales technique to inflate the illusion of higher value of services in order to get a higher price.
What we can tell you is the typical fine a court has assessed in the recent past for certain citations, and whether your similar citations have previously been reduced from a moving violation to a nonmoving violation, and the typical reduction of demerits.
When potential customers call to inquire how we can help, they typically want a guarantee of the following:
That he/she receives no demerits.
That information is not sent to his/her insurance company.
That the fines, if any, will be reduced.
Not to tell their spouse or parents.
We DO NOT GUARANTEE court results. In fact no traffic ticket resolution service can legitimately guarantee results. A “guarantee” in this regard is just a sales technique to inflate the illusion of higher value of services in order to get a higher price.
What we can tell you is the typical fine a court has assessed in the recent past for certain citations, and whether your similar citations have previously been reduced from a moving violation to a nonmoving violation, and the typical reduction of demerits.
Advertising is a large cost that must be recouped by charging you higher fees.
Traffic Ticket Answers - Las Vegas, Nevada
Originally published on Sunday, June 22, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com.
Fees paid usually are to cover high billboard prices or for a spot at the back of a bus.
Billboards - Depending upon the traffic that passes a billboard, the more the cost to rent the billboard per month. I estimate that an average cost of a billboard (excluding the I-15 corridor that can cost up to $20,000 per month) is between $2,000-$3,000 per month (even with multiple billboard discounts). If a business rents 20 billboards a month, with an average charge of $2,500, it will spend $50,000.00. Do the math with $75.00 as the divisor = 667 traffic citations just to break even on advertising. I think you can imagine the pressures that exist to cover such costs. All that cost just to get a very similar resolution to your traffic citation, if not the same (See my blog entry June 22, 2008 - Can one traffic ticket resolution business get a better deal than the others).
Back of the Bus - I would guess that rates to end up at the back of many buses is similar. When I was in Jr. high and high school, sitting at the back of the bus was cool. Well my attitudes have changed, I hate sitting behind the bus. A bus seems to always be stopped at a bus stop blocking traffic. So the question is, do you like paying for the inconvenience of sitting behind a bus?
Originally published on Sunday, June 22, 2008 at ETrafficCitation.com.
Fees paid usually are to cover high billboard prices or for a spot at the back of a bus.
Billboards - Depending upon the traffic that passes a billboard, the more the cost to rent the billboard per month. I estimate that an average cost of a billboard (excluding the I-15 corridor that can cost up to $20,000 per month) is between $2,000-$3,000 per month (even with multiple billboard discounts). If a business rents 20 billboards a month, with an average charge of $2,500, it will spend $50,000.00. Do the math with $75.00 as the divisor = 667 traffic citations just to break even on advertising. I think you can imagine the pressures that exist to cover such costs. All that cost just to get a very similar resolution to your traffic citation, if not the same (See my blog entry June 22, 2008 - Can one traffic ticket resolution business get a better deal than the others).
Back of the Bus - I would guess that rates to end up at the back of many buses is similar. When I was in Jr. high and high school, sitting at the back of the bus was cool. Well my attitudes have changed, I hate sitting behind the bus. A bus seems to always be stopped at a bus stop blocking traffic. So the question is, do you like paying for the inconvenience of sitting behind a bus?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
