Charles Moore, Author at 636 Traffic Law

Reinstating Your Driver’s License in Missouri…

10JunJune 10, 2020 By Charles Moore

REINSTATING YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE IN MISSOURI

There are specific steps you must take in order to reinstate your driver’s license in Missouri after it has been revoked, denied or suspended.

STEP ONE

The first step is to determine the reason(s) why your driver’s license was

taken away. This information can be found on your current Missouri driving

record under “Department Actions” or on the letter sent to you from the

Driver License Bureau at the time your driving privilege was taken.

STEP TWO

The second step is to determine the forms required and the fees you will need to pay. If there are multiple reasons listed for why your driving privilege was taken away, you must file all the appropriate forms for each reason and pay the fee associated with each. The required forms and fees can be found using the chart found on the Missouri Department of Revenue website (http://dor.mo.goc/drivers/reinstatement.php#chart).

OTHER POSSIBLE STEPS

You may also be required to take specific action in order to reinstate your driving privilege, such as taking a Substance Abuse Traffic Offenders Program (SATOP), retaking the driving skills and knowledge test, or installing an ignition interlock device. Information about these requirements can be found on the DMV website (http://dmv.org/mo-missouri/suspended-license.php). If your record indicates that you have not met the required time frame of your suspension, there may still be options available to you.

If your driving privilege was taken away for a year or more because of multiple alcohol offenses (DWI), you might be able to petition to have your driving privilege reinstated early. A partial reinstatement may be granted in some special cases to allow driving for specific purposes, such as school or work. The decision for early reinstatement is based on your prior offenses, current conviction and good behavior.

After filing a petition in the county where the conviction was received, the court

will review the case.

CONCLUSION

Having an experienced traffic ticket lawyer near me on your side can dramatically

increase your chances of success by helping to prove that you are displaying good

behavior and have a high need to have your driving privilege reinstated.

Traffic Ticket Center in St. Charles, Missouri can assist you with reinstating your driving privilege. Call us today for a FREE CONSULTATION at (636) 486-2669!

19DecDecember 13, 2019 By Charles Moore

AVOID POINTS BY HIRING A TRAFFIC LAWYER

The last time you got a speeding ticket, a friend probably said avoid points and hire a traffic lawyer St. Peters. If you didn’t, you may have noticed a few months later that your insurance rates went up.

Why would that happen?

Well, points affect drivers in two ways. First, moving violations such as speeding and careless driving St. Peters carry points if you plead guilty. Acquire too many points and your license can be suspended. But second, acquiring appoints also affects your insurance rates, because insurance companies have access to your driving records. Someone who has plead guilty to speeding is (arguably) a riskier driver to insure. When that driver’s rates are eventually re-calculated, they’ll go up if there is a points conviction.

Take a look at just how much your insurance can be raised for certain violations, according to insurance.com :

reckless driving — 73 percent
speeding — 20 percent
illegal turn — 20 percent
DUI — 79 percent
failure to stop — 19 percent
at-fault bodily injury accident — 32 percent
at-fault property damage accident — 29 percent

Imagine your insurance is $1,200 per year. That’s $120 per month. But an increase of 73% means your insurance would cost $2,076 per year, or $173 per month. Ouch!

So what’s the solution? Hire a traffic lawyer St. Peters. A traffic lawyer can usually get the violations carrying points amended to violations that do not carry points. You’ll still have to pay a fine, but you won’t take the points and therefore you won’t have your insurance rates skyrocket.

The other benefit is that in most cases, you won’t even have to appear in court. That will save time and remember, often municipal court dockets are at night. Who wants to go to court at night?

Often we get calls from clients who have been received a speeding ticket St. Peters in which they were 30 miles per hour or higher over the speed limit. Depending on which court has that ticket, our office can usually work with prosecutors to save points. Often a driver will have to complete a Driver Improvement Program (DIP) in addition to paying a fine. Missouri’s DIP is an online course that assists driver’s to improve their defensive driving skills while reviewing traffic laws.

It should be pointed out that the St. Louis Metropolitan Area is very unique in terms of allowing drivers to plead to amended charges for things like speeding, in exchange for a fine. In more rural parts of the state it can much more difficult to achieve an amended traffic ticket without points. Again, always call a traffic lawyer to see how they can help.

Traffic Ticket Center is located at 4215 S. Old Highway 94 in St. Charles, Missouri. We are right next to the DMV in Harvester. We assist clients with traffic tickets of all kinds, including speeding, careless driving, commercial driving violations, suspended licenses, marijuana charges and DWI / DUI. Call us today for a free consultation. (636) 486-2669.

12DecDecember 12, 2019 By Charles Moore

FIVE MYTHS ABOUT TRAFFIC TICKETS

As a traffic ticket lawyer St. Peters, I work with clients to resolve their traffic tickets in the best way possible. Over the years, as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, I have noticed several myths about traffic tickets.

Here are five:

“IF THE COP WRITES THE DATE WRONG ON THE TICKET OR MISSPELLS MY NAME, THE TICKET IS INVALID.”

This is a common myth that the officer giving you the speeding ticket O’Fallon must write all the information perfectly or it’s not valid. This is untrue. Here is why: no one is perfect and if there was ever a trial over the prosecutor can call the officer as a witness and have him clarify the incorrect information. In other words, you don’t get a traffic ticket thrown out for ticky tack errors by the officer.

“THE OFFICER SAID HE CAUGHT ME SPEEDING USING RADAR BUT HE REFUSED TO SHOW ME THE READ OUT SO THE TICKET IS INVALID.”

A couple of times a year we get people calling claiming they want the ticket thrown out because they were never shown the radar readout when they requested it at the time they were pulled over. An officer does not have to show your speed on the radar device for the ticket to be valid.

Now, if there was a trial, the prosecutor will have to question the officer on the stand about calibration and training on the device. However, that doesn’t usually result in a non-conviction for a traffic ticket St. Peters.

”THE OFFICER FOLLOWED ME INTO ANOTHER TOWN RIGHT BEFORE I PULLED OVER…SINCE THEY DON’T HAVE JURISDICTION WHERE I WAS ACTUALLY PULLED OVER, THE SPEEDING TICKET SHOULD BE THROWN OUT.”

If only this were true. Missouri, similar to most states, have statutes that allow officers to complete a traffic stop for an event that happened in one town, even if the actual place that the car was pulled over is in another town.

Now, that doesn’t mean a traffic ticket can be given by a St. Peters officer in say O’Fallon if the site of the violation was in O’Fallon. Officers in one town don’t have original jurisdiction in towns other than the town for which they serve.

“I GOT A SPEEDING TICKET IN ALABAMA ON MY WAY TO FLORIDA. I’M NOT GOING TO PAY IT SINCE I LIVE IN MISSOURI.”

Missouri participates in what is known as the Interstate Compact, which is an agreement between almost all of the states to share DMV information. So if you get a ticket in Alabama but ignore it, you could up with a Missouri suspended license until you resolve the ticket in Alabama.

Worse, if you ignore it but the following year get pulled over in Alabama on your way to Florida, you’ll probably be arrested and forced to post bond. Not a good way to start a vacation.

One other quick point on this issue: I often get calls from people that live near out traffic ticket office in St. Peters who want me to resolve out of state tickets. I can’t do it because I am not admitted to practice law in those states. Best thing to do is contact an attorney in the county or city where you were pulled over and see if they can help.

“I WASN’T SPEEDING AND WANT TO TAKE THE MATTER TO TRIAL.”

So it’s not a myth that you can contest a speeding ticket O’Fallon and have a trial. Practically speaking, however, there are two problems: First, many lawyers will not take a speeding ticket case to trial. Second, that’s because it’s generally not financially feasible for clients. The fine for some tickets is under $150.00. You can usually have an attorney get your speeding ticket near reduced to a no point violation (i.e. muffler violation, etc.) by a traffic lawyer St. Peters for under $150.

Trials are expensive and even if you win, you’re going to spend probably double or triple the amount of the ticket.

CONCLUSION

Like death and taxes, traffic tickets are a part of life. The municipal court system in and around St. Louis is unique in that citizens can get their tickets amended to no point violations and doing so is highly competitive for lawyers so it’s extremely affordable.

FCC Speeding Tickets in Missouri…

29Jun By Charles Moore

FCC Speeding Tickets in Missouri

If you receive a speeding ticket in Missouri from a Missouri Highway patrol officer, the ticket will state that it is an FCC ticket. FCC means “Fine Collection” Center, and it is located in Jefferson City. On an FCC ticket, instead of a court date to resolve the speeding ticket, the ticket will state “due in 30 days”.

Even though there is no court date listed, you can still resolve the ticket with a St. Charles traffic lawyer in the circuit court of the county where the ticket was received. The process works much the same as any speeding ticket received in a Missouri municipal court. You can hire our firm to represent you and seek a no-points amendment to avoid paying higher insurance premiums and getting points on your license.

As with regular speeding tickets, pleading guilty will result in having those points on your license. If you receive too many points, your license can be suspended. And when you plead guilty, your insurance premiums are likely to go up because the insurance company will see the guilty plea and decide you are more expensive to insure.

Keep in mind that not all county prosecutors will amend FCC tickets to non-moving violations (no point tickets). In St. Charles County and surrounding counties, prosecutors will amend these tickets. However, in some rural counties, they will not. You can call our office and we can advise you on your particular ticket at no charge.

If you hire Traffic Ticket Center, we can work with the prosecutor to amend your FCC speeding ticket so you can avoid paying more for insurance and risk losing your ability to drive.

Call us today at (636) 486-2669 for assistance. We can quote you the cost for the ticket and give you more information on how we can help you.

Traffic Tickets 101: Municipal Court versus Circuit Court…

12Jun By Charles Moore

TRAFFIC TICKETS 101: MUNICIPAL COURT V. CIRCUIT COURT

If you are pulled over in Missouri for a traffic ticket, your case could be heard either in a Missouri municipal court or a Missouri circuit court.

What’s the difference? A municipal court is the court where a town or city enforces their own municipal ordinances. A circuit court is where the state of Missouri enforces its own statutes.

At the bottom of every ticket where the officer can state select whether the violation is of a local ordinance or state law.

When a person speeds say in O’Fallon, Missouri, that speeding ticket is both a violation of a local O’Fallon ordinance prohibiting speeding and of Missouri state law. However, revenue from fines and court costs goes to O’Fallon if it is charged as an ordinance violation and to the state of Missouri if charged as a state law violation.

If you are caught speeding on the highway by a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer or in an unincorporated part of a county by a sheriff’s deputy, both of those tickets are codes as state law violations to be heard at the circuit court in the county where the violation occurred.

If you have a prior offense like a DWI, it likely will be heard in circuit court because of the level of seriousness. That is another factor in determining which court will hear your case.

Generally speaking, it is better to be in municipal court than state circuit court. Municipal prosecutors are much more likely to amend a ticket in exchange for a fine. That can happen at the circuit court too, but often prosecutors are much more reluctant to amend charges or to not attach some period of probation if the charge is serious enough.

Traffic Ticket Center is your traffic ticket lawyer for violations in St. Peters, O’Fallon, Wentzville, Cottleville and St. Charles. We can help you understand how your particular circumstances might differ if you are charged in state circuit court versus a local municipal court.

Remember, you should always hire a traffic ticket lawyer to help you avoid rising insurance premiums and points on your license. Pleading guilty to moving violations can lead to both and affect your ability to drive and to drive affordably.

Missouri Abuse and Lose

02Jun By Charles Moore

Missouri Abuse and Lose

Missouri has strong laws regarding alcohol and other serious traffic offenses. If you’re under 21, Missouri’s “Abuse and Lose” laws apply.

The statute is Section 577.500.1 and consists of two sections:

Under the first section, the Abuse and Lose law authorizes suspension or revocation of driving privileges if a person under 21 has committed any alcohol related traffic offense, any offense involving possession or use of alcohol while operating a motor vehicle, any offense involving possession of a controlled substance (drugs) or any offense involving the alteration, modification or misrepresentation of a license to operate a motor vehicle.

The length of suspension or revocation varies depending on whether it was a first offense or not. For a first offense, the period of suspension is 90 days. An arrest for a second or subsequent offense results in a one year loss of license privileges.

Under the second suspension, a person under 21 can have their license suspended or revoked for any offense involving the purchase, attempted purchase or possession of an intoxicating liquor by a minor or a minor in a visibly intoxicated condition, if the juvenile was over the age of 15 at the time of the offense.

Suspension is for 30 days for a first offense, 90 days for a second offense and a year for a third or subsequent offense.

As with other alcohol related traffic offenses, for your driver’s license to be reinstated, you have to pay the required fee and completed a substance abuse program such as the Substance Abuse Traffic Offender Program, commonly known as SATOP.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to get a limited driving privilege for getting to and from school, for doctor visits and for work.

Here’s a link to the DMV’s FAQ about Abuse and Lose: http://dor.mo.gov/faq/drivers/abuse.php

If you’re under 21 and have been charged with an alcohol related traffic offense such as DWI / DUI or Minor in Possession call our office right away. We understand this can be a confusing and scary experience. Knowing your rights and having an experienced lawyer on your side is crucial.

Possession of Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia Charges in Missouri…

08MayMay 2, 2017 By Charles Moore

Possession of Marijuana Charge and Drug Paraphernalia in Missouri

Marijuana possession (of under 35 grams) and/or possession of drug paraphernalia is a common charge arising out of a traffic stop by a police officer in Missouri. In the usual case, a police officer will pull someone over for a moving violation such as speeding or possibly an equipment violation like a defective tail light and once at the driver’s door, will state that they smell marijuana or the driver has blood shot eyes.

From there, the officer will believe he has probable cause to suspect that the driver has marijuana either on his person or in the vehicle and will ask to search the vehicle, which most drivers allow because they fear they have no choice.

Each charge is a separate misdemeanor, which in Missouri could result in a fine of up to $1,000 and/or one year on jail.

Drug paraphernalia related to marijuana possession could include a roach clip, rolling papers, a pipe, one-hitter, dugout or bong.

A person found in possession of marijuana in their vehicle who is under age 21 can lose their license under Missouri’s “Abuse & Lose” statute. The loss of license can be anywhere between 30 days to one year and that depends on whether they are charged in municipal or state court and whether it is their first offense.

Another aspect of marijuana possession charges in Missouri is that a conviction cannot be expunged (removed) from the person’s record. Drug related offenses can make finding employment even harder, can show up in a background search for loans or an apartment.

For these reasons it is crucial that someone charged with marijuana and/or drug paraphernalia possession in Missouri hire an attorney to represent them. An attorney can review all the police reports related to the case to determine defenses against the charge which could be used to either have the case dismissed or negotiate with the prosecutor for a lesser offense, such as littering.

Every court handles marijuana charges differently and every prosecutor also handles these cases differently.

Attorney Charles Moore has served as a municipal prosecutor and a defense attorney and has tried and defended marijuana possession cases, with excellent results. This experience is invaluable for his clients.

Been charged with marijuana possession or drug paraphernalia possession Missouri? Traffic Ticket Center can help. Call us right away at (636) 486-2669.

Shoplifting Charge in Missouri…

02MayMay 2, 2017 By Charles Moore

Shoplifting Charge in Missouri

In Missouri, shoplifting is where you get caught taking items worth less than $500 and punishment can be up to a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. Sometimes the charge is deemed to be stealing, theft or “petty theft”.

Since shoplifting is a crime involving dishonesty, it is crucial that anyone charged with shoplifting in Missouri hire a lawyer. A person who pleads guilty to shoplifting will have that on his record and this could dim his future employment prospects. Employers are especially wary of hiring anyone who has been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty.

Hiring an attorney will ensure that your case is adequately reviewed to see if it can be dismissed, and, if not, reduced to a lesser charge.

In most shoplifting cases in Missouri, the defendant is charged in municipal court. Outcomes after hiring an attorney usually include paying a fine and court costs, possibly completing a class regarding theft, often community service and in some cases, completion of one or two years of probation.

Fines and court costs can range from $150 to $700. The theft offender class can be completed in a day and costs between $50 and $75.

The outcome of your case will depend on a number of factors, including where you were arrested, what items you allegedly took, your interaction with the police officer(s) at the scene, any prior convictions and what I would call “special circumstances”, i.e. any particular facts which make your case different than another case or that would cause a prosecutor to see your case in a different light.

As always, hiring an attorney for your Missouri shoplifting case is not only essential to getting a better resolution of the charge, but it will also remove a lot of the stress of having to go to court not knowing what to expect. In some cases, you may not have to attend court at all.

Been charged with shoplifting or stealing in Missouri? Traffic Ticket Center can help. Call us right away at (636) 486-2669.

Dealing With a Warrant in Missouri…

27FebFebruary 13, 2017 By Charles Moore

DEALING WITH A WARRANT IN MISSOURI

Our office commonly gets calls from clients who think they have a warrant in Missouri for their arrest. The first and best step to take, or if you hire our firm, what we will do first, is call the court where you think you have the warrant and inquire with the clerk.

Another option in Missouri is to check Case.net online (https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/base/welcome.do). The problem with Case.net is the information is not as current as the information you can get from the court. Also, very few municipal courts participate in Case.net.

Our firm can not only confirm whether you have a warrant but for what purpose and then advise you on the steps we need to take to have the warrant recalled.

Warrants can be issued in Missouri for failure to pay fines and courts costs for a traffic ticket, often for not following through with a payment plan that was established with the court for those fees.

Failure to appear (often referred to as an FTA) in court is probably the most common reason for a warrant to be issued. Courts will often not issue and FTA until you have missed a second court date.

Again, identifying WHY you have a warrant or hiring an attorney to do that is the first step to resolving the warrant.

Once you know where and why you have a warrant, the next step is to have it recalled (lifted).

If you hire an attorney, you can usually have the warrant lifted instead of having to file a bond and the attorney will get a new court date. From there the case will proceed as any other normal case would, with your attorney working on your behalf to get an amended or dismissed charge for the original matter which started the warrant process.

Some courts, however, will require the attorney to enter his appearance (notify the court they are representing you) and post bond. There are a few courts, particularly in St. Louis County, that operate this way.

A few other things about warrants should be discussed:

If you have more than one warrant or even several warrants in Missouri, the process is much trickier. If you show up to pay bond at one court, then you will likely be placed under arrest and sent to jail in the next municipality. You’ll have to pay an additional bond there before you are released. If you have another warrant, you’ll be sent to jail in the next municipality and so on. The best way to avoid all of this is to hire an attorney to represent you to have each warrant (if possible) lifted without a bond. The way this is handled would be very specific to your circumstances.
Warrants are not specific to a given area. If you have a warrant in O’Fallon for example, you can’t avoid getting arrested or picked up on that warrant by avoiding O’Fallon. Anywhere you get pulled over that O’Fallon warrant is going to show up.
Remember that when you post a bond, the whole point is to ensure that you show up to your next court date. It’s really a deposit to ensure your future attendance at court. So let’s say you post bond of $300 in St. Charles Municipal Court and then hire a lawyer to assist you with your case. The lawyer gets the case resolved favorably but you have to pay a fine of $150. You’ll actually be able to use your bond money to pay the fine and you’ll get a refund, in this example of $150.
Keep in mind that rules related to warrants, failures to appear and bonds, particularly in St. Louis County municipal courts have changed considerably since Ferguson. Generally speaking, the rules in general are changing and the courts are changing their own procedures. Some of that has been required by changes to Missouri law and some of that is self-imposed. Generally speaking, these changes are benefiting the public at large.

The best advice I can give you if you find yourself with an outstanding warrant in Missouri is to act and to do so quickly. Warrants don’t expire. You have to take action to deal with them. Problems can only multiply and the situation will grow more expensive and complicated if you fail to act.

How Serious is Shoplifting or Stealing in Missouri?

20FebFebruary 13, 2017 By Charles Moore

How Serious is Shoplifting or Stealing in Missouri?

Under Missouri law, stealing is a Class A misdemeanor if the value of the merchandise is under $500. Class A misdemeanors in Missouri carry a fine of up to $1,000 and up to one (1) year in jail.

Now, under Missouri law you can also be sued in a civil suit by the store that you allegedly shoplifted from. This usually begins with what’s called a “civil demand letter”. It will say you owe the store money for shoplifting goods.

Hiring an attorney is very important if you are charged with shoplifting or stealing. First, the attorney can often get the charge amended to a lesser offense, especially if you have no prior convictions on your record. Frankly, each court treats these charges completely different. In some courts, your best result, other than a dismissal would be probation. Specifically, an attorney can seek a SIS (Suspended Imposition of Sentence) plea and probation.

As I have discussed before, if you receive an SIS no conviction is entered on your record if you complete the probation period with no further convictions.

Aside from where you received the charge, there are many other factors that are considered by the prosecutor. For example, are you young? Were you cooperative with security at the store? How much was the item you stole and what was it? Have you ever been convicted of shoplifting, theft or some other crime of dishonesty such as larceny or fraud?

Keep in mind that when officers write a ticket for shoplifting, they often will call it stealing under $500, just stealing or often theft (or even theft under $500). All of those descriptions would fall under the charge of shoplifting.

Again, it’s not a charge to be taken lightly. When employers do background checks, they are often forgiving of many mistakes people make like a DWI or other serious traffic offenses. But shoplifting charges, in their view, relate to your character and trustworthiness. If you’re a bank for example, how can you justify hiring someone who has plead guilty to a shoplifting charge?

That’s why it makes the most sense to hire a lawyer to represent your interests and protect your future. I’ve prosecuted these cases and defended them and that experience helps my clients.