This is hard to generalize because the situations and the details of each case vary. However, an attorney can be extremely helpful if you are in any of the following situations:
Getting pulled over is a scary experience, but the outcome completely depends on what you do (or what you don’t do for that matter). The way you act has a great deal to do if you decide to go to court against your traffic ticket.
If you are being followed by a police car that is signaling you to stop, pull over as quickly and as safely as you can. Make sure you don’t break any traffic laws while doing so. Use your indicators to signal any lane change and don’t stop abruptly. Pull over as much as you can to the right side of the road for the safety of the officer and yourself. And turn off the engine.
When the officer approaches you, roll down your window and put your hands in plain view. At nights, turn on the interior light of the vehicle. Don’t do anything that would make the officer suspicious. The officers are trained to react to any suspicious situation and you don’t want to give them any reason to point their gun at you. Never get out of the car unless instructed by the officer.
What you tell the officer and the way you tell them has a great impact on the outcome of the trial if any. Don’t talk to the officer offensively. Be patient and answer their questions as short as you can. Don’t argue with the officers and follow their instructions. If you are asked to give them your registration and insurance, do so immediately and without further questions. Never admit that you have violated any laws as that can be used against you in the court.
Services for out-of-state motorists
If you live outside of the state and are dealing with a local traffic citation, a traffic ticket attorney can save you a lot of time, trouble, expense with their legal representation.
The state of California is a member of the National Driver’s License Compact (NDLC). If you live elsewhere in the United States but receive a moving violation here, this membership makes it impossible to disregard a local traffic citation. Citations received in Los Angeles or anywhere else in the state of California are recorded and shared with other states in the NDLC, which, for all purposes, treat any California traffic citations as though they were local offenses. The NDLC agreement does not apply to window tinting, exhaust noise, parking tickets or any other non-moving traffic citation.
California is among 45 states that participate in this program. Other states have their own exceptions to the agreement, and several states also exchange information and asses points for violations in Quebec and Ontario. (Non-participating states are Tennessee, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, and Massachusetts.)
Can I Ignore a Red Light Camera Ticket?