Citation In FL; GA MVR Still Reflects Accident

Rob, how can I get in touch with Rick to help me know where to start on this complex jouney with reference to my FL and GA MVR?

Dewey, just post in this conversation asking Rick to contact Brett. He can get your email address from Brett if you will indicate in your request to him that you give Brett that permission. We don't want you posting personal information like phone numbers or email addresses in the forum.

Dewey,

Hopefully he is monitoring this thread and will chime in when he can.

It will help him if you can tell him exactly the disposition from Duval County.

You should be able to look your case up online:

Duval County Florida Records

Dewey, remember we want the whole community here to benefit and gain knowledge from these conversations. If you have specific questions for Rick, you can ask them here in the forum. He's probably the longest standing member here who is still participating. He's really knowledgeable and helpful, but he may prefer to communicate here inside the forum.

Anything he provides here that is helpful to you may very well be helpful to others in a similar situation. So, if possible just post your questions and maybe we can all learn something from the answers.

I got a citation for careless driving in Jacksonville , FL on July 3, 2019. I hired an outfit in Washington state, which I obtained from a trucking magazine from a local truckstop, to send a lawyer down there to clear it up. Apparently, it is cleared up in FL, but when I obtained my MVR from GA recently, where I reside, the whole mess is still on there. Been driving over 20 years....can't get hired anywhere. The outfit in Washington won't even return my phone calls regarding this!!! Can anyone advise me what to do? Thank you.

Long ago in my POV I got pulled over in Jacksonville by and off-duty cop. He was offended that I was going about 80mph.

He asked me if I was heading out of town (south). I replied, "Yes, Orlando". He said I'll see you to the county line and let me go without a ticket :)

Turtle, thanks for the link to Duval Co. We opened the case up, and lawyer appeared on my behalf on 9-6-19. I was not present. Charge was careless driving. Adjudication of guilt withheld , and Court fees of $150.00 was applied and I paid that. Plea was nolo. The letter from The Ticket Clinic, the lawyer that appeared on my behalf, said they were pleased to inform me that court withheld adjudication. No points were assessed and no conviction will appear on my FLORIDA record. Court ordered me to pay $150 court costs, blah, blah. So, sounded great, right? Then blam, we pick up a copy of the GA MVR , the state we live in, and there appears 1 point and the careless driving conviction. It also said no accident, and no commercial vehicle, which is incorrect. ??????????????????? One lawyer in Jacksonville told us over the phone the case would have to be reopened, and a trial occur. He was not interested in helping me. This is all I know, up to this point. ??????????

Dear Rick, please contact Brett for my email address. I also gave Brett my phone number. Thanks , man!

Dewey, remember we want the whole community here to benefit and gain knowledge from these conversations. If you have specific questions for Rick, you can ask them here in the forum. He's probably the longest standing member here who is still participating. He's really knowledgeable and helpful, but he may prefer to communicate here inside the forum. Anything he provides here that is helpful to you may very well be helpful to others in a similar situation. So, if possible just post your questions and maybe we can all learn something from the answers. Quote

As OS says - prefer to keep things on the board here, so that others can benefit from the conversation.

My Facebook info is on my profile here. One person in particular (thanks Anna) usually pokes me on FB when someone is looking for me here (or just busts my chops when I drop off for awhile).

The depth of my participation here varies - according to how much time I have to dedicate to it. Between my business and other things I have going on, I literally don't stop moving from 7AM until I pass out around midnight. So the (literally) couple of hours a day it takes to stay as active as when I'm depressed (and stuck to the couch), just isn't there, when my head is doing OK.

Turtle, thanks for the link to Duval Co. We opened the case up, and lawyer appeared on my behalf on 9-6-19. I was not present. Charge was careless driving. Adjudication of guilt withheld , and Court fees of $150.00 was applied and I paid that. Plea was nolo. The letter from The Ticket Clinic, the lawyer that appeared on my behalf, said they were pleased to inform me that court withheld adjudication. No points were assessed and no conviction will appear on my FLORIDA record. Court ordered me to pay $150 court costs, blah, blah. So, sounded great, right? Then blam, we pick up a copy of the GA MVR , the state we live in, and there appears 1 point and the careless driving conviction. It also said no accident, and no commercial vehicle, which is incorrect. ??????????????????? One lawyer in Jacksonville told us over the phone the case would have to be reopened, and a trial occur. He was not interested in helping me. This is all I know, up to this point. ??????????

OK - here's the deal.

As I suspected - you DID NOT GET A DISMISSAL. You got an adjudication withheld (no points/no conviction) which is pretty much what the ticket mill operations promise - NO POINTS/NO CONVICTION.

The problem arises (as I mentioned earlier) with HOW GEORGIA DEALS WITH THIS KIND OF OUT-OF-STATE DISPOSITION, and from all appearances, they consider it a conviction. And apparently (without spending too much time researching GA law), out-of-state citations are assigned ONE POINT (because a careless driving IN GEORGIA would likely be MORE POINTS).

Where to go from here?

The ONLY WAY TO CHANGE THIS IN FL - is to do a "change of plea" to not guilty, and TAKE IT TO TRIAL.

There are a number of factors here.

First off - you need to FIND A LOCAL TRAFFIC ATTORNEY. And that's not going to be the "flat fee" that the ticket clinic charges (and they DID FULFILL THEIR OBLIGATION - you got NO POINTS/NO CONVICTION. What GA did with that, it not their fault or responsibility). This is going to cost you additional $$'s. Can you swing it?

More importantly - with a TRIAL, there is a RISK OF CONVICTION.

You didn't go into the circumstances of the citation itself. Pretty much - if the COP DIDN'T SEE IT, HE CANNOT TESTIFY TO IT. And if he cannot testify, there is a better than even chance HE WILL NOT EVEN SHOW UP. CASE DISMISSED. BUT - if the cop DID SEE IT - and/or other witnesses show up - and if whatever happened that caused the citation to be issued DID IN FACT HAPPEN - a conviction is going to mean MORE POINTS, a CONVICTION ON YOUR RECORD, a FINE, MORE COURT COSTS.

So there's a risk involved here - and you may reach "the diminishing point of returns", on how much more it's going to cost - and THE RISK OF CONVICTION - VERSUS - just taking the point on your GA record.

I can't make that call for you. I don't know how much you're willing to spend to TRY and make this go away (there is NO GUARANTEE, and I really can't advise you further without knowing the EXACT CIRCUMSTANCES).

Give you a personal example though: 2009 (while I'm in trucking school), I make a left across 2 lanes of traffic, at a light (green not arrow) - traffic looks clear - but a guy is SPEEDING (in the rain I might add) and clips my rear quarter. I have WITNESSES that the guy was REALLY SPEEDING (including an ambo driver). Cop still has to write me a ticket for FTYROW. And in essence, regardless of the other guy, this was true. So I tell the cop - no worries, I just drop this off at my atty and let him deal with it. He tells me SAVE YOUR $$, if I DIDN'T SEE IT HAPPEN, I CAN'T TESTIFY TO IT.

My atty takes it to trial, cop no-shows, case dismissed. But the cop COULD HAVE SHOWN, and testified as to THE CIRCUMSTANCES ACCORDING TO HIS REPORT - and I might have gotten a conviction.

There's ALWAYS THAT RISK.

A motorcycle cop ALWAYS SHOWS UP - that's their JOB - write tickets and go to court. FL State Troopers will typically show also, that's THEIR JOB. Regular local cops - likely won't (under most circumstances).

Rick

Rick knows his stuff, especially when it comes to Florida laws/regulations. There is risk involved in changing your plea but it's currently showing on your MVR and affecting getting hired. If you for whatever reason would get another careless in 1 year wont you be disqualified as well? Some states require permit as well as state exam to be able to drive again after disqualification. Personally I'd take the chance of adding more points to my license if I'm an otherwise safe driver.

Thanks, Rob and Rick. I'll show your posts to Dewey. RICK, thank you so much for your expertise! When I get back to the house in a bit, I'll get Dewey to dictate the circunstances of the accident to me so you will be better informed to advise him if he should fight, or just keep driving a dump truck, which is crazy because it's a weather-dependent job and the rain here in GA has been relentless for nearly 2 months!