Forney Municipal and JP2 Tickets- I just want it off my record, do I need a lawyer?

So you’ve got a ticket in Forney and you want to keep it off your record? Do you need a lawyer? The answer is….. maybe, but maybe not. Let’s go over your options. Forney has two courts that handle traffic tickets, Forney Municipal Court (where the Forney Police Station is) and JP2 (downtown Forney close to our office). If you have received a traffic ticket in or near Forney, it is one of those two courts. If you receive a ticket in these courts you can hire a lawyer, and many people do. But you don’t have to.

Why hire a lawyer for a Forney traffic ticket?

The advantages of hiring a lawyer is that we have a relationship with prosecutors and know what the range of acceptable outcomes are in ticket cases. That makes it easier for us to work out your case. We can also appear in court for you. Which saves you time. Finally, we can raise legal and factual issues with your case that may get it dismissed.

The downside of hiring a lawyer?

Cost. That’s it. When the maximum ticket fine is $500, and the most likely fine and costs is $200-$350 spending that amount on a lawyer means you probably aren’t saving money in most cases. You are saving time, and increasing the odds of a dismissal. So the question becomes how much is your time worth, and are you willing to pay our team to try and get a dismissal, go over your trial options (trials cost extra BTW), and work out a deal for you to achieve your goals?

For non-traffic tickets, you need a lawyer. Class-C assaults are one example. It’s really hard to get these dismissed without a lawyer. It’s most often a no-witness situation where the “victim” is saying you did it, and you are saying you didn’t. It’s hard to persuade a prosecutor in that situation when you are the defendant. You need a lawyer to present your defenses in a way that will get results.

I don’t want to spend money on a lawyer, what should I do?

I tell people that for traffic tickets you can plead not guilty and ask for a court date to meet with the prosecutor. At that hearing ask for deferred and if you can work out a deal you like then go for it. CDL drivers can’t get deferred, but if you have a regular Class C license (you probably do) then you can. For non-traffic cases, I don’t recommend going without a lawyer. If you can’t get a deferred offer your like on a ticket then come back and hire us to do it. For non-traffic cases you need a lawyer. Those cases are more complicated, and some, like class c assault family violence, can have consequences even if you get deferred.