DuPage County Aggravated Speeding Lawyer

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Speeding 26-34 mph over the speed limit is considered a Class B Criminal Misdemeanor offense in Illinois. It carries a maximum of 6 months in the County jail and fines of up to $1,500.00. 

Speeding 26-34 mph over the limit charges are eligible for Court Supervision. However, it is in the driver's best interest to have the charges amended first and then enter into Court Supervision.  Also, drivers can receive Court Supervision for speeding 26-34 mph over the speed limit only once in their lifetime in Illinois. 

An amendment is asking the prosecuting attorney to amend the face of the ticket from what the ticket currently states as the alleged offense (speeding 26-34 mph over) to a petty speeding. In other words, the request would be to amend the ticket from a criminal offense to a petty, non-criminal offense. This is beneficial as you would now be pleading guilty to a petty, non-criminal offense vs. pleading guilty to a criminal offense. Also, your driving record would reflect court supervision on a petty offense vs. a criminal offense. These facts come to be valuable if you are ever asked a question in a job application as to whether you have ever plead guilty to a criminal offense. If the ticket gets amended to a petty offense, and then you plead guilty to it for court supervision for instance, then you did not plead guilty to a criminal offense but instead plead guilty to a petty ticket offense. Remember, prosecutors have the discretion to amend tickets on its face. 

Unlike being ticketed for speeding 26-34 mph over the speed limit, being ticketed for speeding 35 mph or more over the speed limit carries more severe consequences. Because this particular ticket is a Class A Misdemeanor offense, this offense carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in the county jail and fines of up to $2,500.00. These tickets can be issued to drivers anywhere on the road, whether highway or local. However, it is very common to see these tickets being issued to drivers on the highway. 

For the most part, prosecutors will not look favorably to these types of tickets. Speeding at this rate is considered dangerous to the driver and the surrounding driver's and property. Therefore, it will take some commitment from an aggravated speeding ticket lawyer to negotiate any sort of court supervision disposition for this ticket. Mitigating factors and prior driver record will be looked at when considering whether the prosecutor should offer a court supervision disposition. Driver's can only get court supervision once for speeding 35 mph over the speed limit. Therefore, if a driver has received Court Supervision for this offense before then he/she will not be available for Court Supervision. Even if a driver is offered court supervision for this offense, the driver will be required to plead guilty to a Class A misdemeanor for the supervision. A more beneficial situation would be pleading guilty to a lesser offense. 

It benefits driver's more to plead down from a Class A speeding ticket to a Class B or even a petty speeding offense. The reasons for that are as follows:

1. It will look more favorable to the public when pleading guilty to a lesser criminal offense.

2. The Class A Criminal Misdemeanor offense will not be shown on your driving record.

3. The risks are not as severe should a Court Supervision term be violated. If you violate Court Supervision on a Class A Misdemeanor offense, then you can be resentenced to Class A Misdemeanor penalties which is a maximum of one year in jail and fines of up to $2,500.00. However, if you plead guilty to an amendment to a Class B Misdemeanor offense (speeding 26-34 mph over), obtain court supervision and you violate the terms of your supervision, then you can be resentenced to the Class B penalties which is up to 6 months in jail and fines of up to $1,500.00. The most ideal scenario is pleading guilty to a petty offense and getting court supervision. Therefore, should the driver violate court supervision on a petty offense then being resentenced will only lead to fines only and no jail. All of this is assuming that the prosecutor will even take action of a driver violating supervision. Some prosecutors may, some may not. It all depends. 

Amending a Class A aggravated speeding ticket to a petty offense will need a lot of negotiations to occur with the prosecuting attorney, however. As you can imagine, amending a ticket where a driver was speeding, say 40 mph over, to a ticket that says they were speeding only 20 is a huge drop. It is not surprising that a prosecutor will most likely not offer that sort of an amendment to a pro se driver with no legal representation.  In fact, they may not even offer that with legal representation but it depends on various factors such as driver's record and the facts of the case.  It is not to say it cannot happen. An experienced, aggravated speeding lawyer will be needed to fulfil any amendment aspirations. As an experienced Dupage County aggravated speeding lawyer, we have helped clients with amendments in the past. 

Your speeding ticket will state when and where court will be in the bottom of the ticket. Court will be in the County where you received the ticket. Aggravated speeding tickets are heard usually in the major traffic courtroom. Remember, all driver's cited with aggravated speeding must appear in court unless the presence is waived by the judge. If the driver does not appear, a warrant for the driver's arrest can be issued. It is in every driver's best interest to consult with an aggravated speeding ticket lawyer immediately after receiving the ticket so the lawyer can strategize prior to the first court date. Additionally, the aggravated speeding ticket lawyer may be able to speak with the prosecutor prior to the first court date and work out a deal so multiple court appearances do not need to occur. The first court date will be an arraignment date where the driver must answer to the charges as guilty or not guilty. 

The court process can be short or can be long. It depends on what the sought-out goal of the case is, length of discovery received by the prosecution and whether the case is going to trial or not. If the driver's aggravated speeding lawyer is able to work out a favorable plea deal prior to or at the first court date, the case can be wrapped up on the first date.

 Just like other criminal cases, the prosecutor is required to provide discovery to the aggravated speeding defense attorney. Typical discovery in these types of cases include the police dashcam video, body camera, the citation(s), the police report and booking information.  The driver's aggravated speeding ticket lawyer will want to review all of the discovery to ascertain any defenses or strategies. 

A blind plea is when the driver asks the judge to sentence him/her after a plea of guilty. It is a blind plea because the driver is unsure as to how the judge will sentence the driver. Every case is different, and there will always be risks and benefits to a blind plea. Keep in mind, however, doing a blind plea for a Class A Misdemeanor means that a judge can sentence the driver up to a year in the county jail and assess the maximum fines or can sentence the driver to no jail at all and little fines and court supervision. That is why a blind plea is a risk for all defendants and that is why in most instances, plea deals are entered into with the prosecutor. A blind plea may make sense for a defendant if the offer from the prosecutor for the aggravated speeding ticket is not what the defendant desires but believes a more favorable sentence will be rendered by the judge. For instance, the prosecutor may offer a deal of 15 days in jail and the maximum amount of fines for the Class A aggravated speeding ticket. If the defendant believes that the judge will be more likely to sentence the defendant to no jail or less days then 15 then a blind plea would be beneficial. Every case is different and every driver should make sure with an experienced aggravated speeding lawyer that a blind plea is the best strategy for the outcome of the case. 

Taking an aggravated speeding ticket to trial is also risky. If the driver loses in trial, the judge can sentence the driver to up to the maximum penalty associated with that particular ticket. Every case is different but some reasons to take an aggravated speeding case to trial are the following:

1. Defense to the charges. If you have a defense to the aggravated speeding ticket such as you were not speeding at the alleged amount stated on the ticket or the post speed limit differs from the officer's account then taking the matter to trial may be beneficial. The prosecution needs to prove the aggravated speeding charge beyond a reasonable doubt and has to prove every element such as identifying the defendant as the driver and that the defendant actually sped at the alleged amount stated on the ticket. This can be done through the testimony of the officer. 

2. Lack of evidence by the prosecution. Proceeding to trial may also be a good option if the driver believes that the prosecution cannot prove its case because of unavailability of the officer or because of malfunctions with the radar. 

Always consult with an experienced aggravated speeding traffic lawyer before making the decision of taking an aggravated speeding ticket to trial.

Call now to speak to a DuPage County aggravated speeding lawyer to represent you on your aggravated speeding case. We also represent clients in the surrounding counties such as Will County, Kane County and Cook County.