Northwest Members - Seattle area traffic lawyer needed!

Long story short....I was pulled over in my Z06 at 5:45AM (pitch black out this early in the morning!) on the way to work today on I-5 at Southcenter hill going northbound and issued a $123 citation for an "unsafe lane change" in front on a semi truck. When I questioned the State Patrolman to provide what the objective criteria was that I violated in terms of distance between me and the semi all he could say is that the semi had to hit his brakes which means that the officer was behind the truck and couldn't verify my distance. I said maybe he was speeding and needed to slow down and that's why he hit his brakes....and then he said that no, you were to close and the evidence was the driver hitting his brakes. This is ridicules...I could see the semi in my mirror not to mention I always verify with an over the shoulder look to make double sure I'm not cutting someone off.

Needless to say I will take this one to court! Any recommendations on an attorney? Someone mentioned Jeannie Mucklestone in Seattle to me....anyone heard of her?

Don't bother with a lawyer. Just say the semi was flashing his lights to tell you it's ok to lane change. I see them do that all the time to other truck drivers.

So...you have a z06, but want to get a lawyer for a $123 ticket? Sounds way not worth it...and going to court without one is praying to get extremely lucky..judges don't overturn shit unless you have clear as day proof, like video. If it's your word against the cop judges don't usually overturn unless he made a big mistake...sorry man, that blows but you're prob gonna have to eat it.

Just go to court, I have fought tickets before & I have won with out a lawyer.
make sure you request the cop.

Can't have court without the cop being there...

Why would you want to waste money on a lawyer? That would end up costing you more in the end. Just show up to court and plea not guilty. See what happens. My guess is they will cut the fine in half.

Why would you want to waste money on a lawyer?I have a clean driving record and would like to keep it that way.

It's such a minor offense that it won't affect your insurance rates and odd's are won't even register or come up on your record. I guess if you got the money to piss away on a lawyer over something so small, maybe the judge will take that into consideration and believe you. G/L either way..

I don't think the 123 is point. The point is that it was ridiculous. If the cop could not see you then how the hell does he know what the motivation of the truck driver to slow down is? He could have seen a freaking squirrel for all the officer knows.

Go for it John its worth the money for the lawyer if you have it, if not it were me even if I didn't have the money for a lawyer I'd research the laws then show up myself with not guiltly and want it thrown out. Let us know how it goes!

Good luck with that man, really. Anyone here fought a ticket lately you could do all the "this is ridiculous, statute this statute that by physics he couldn't have seen me blah blah" unless you get him on a technicality the judge is going to trust the cops judgement. Very frustrating I know. Basically I'm saying just don't waste the money on a lawyer. Go ahead and try to fight it and all, youll at least get it reduced prob....but no lawyer man. one point never hurt anyone

Hey all I can say is that I got a speed racing ticket and got away with it by looking up the law and figuring out what it really states, an I won my case:D

Was there an officer in the truck?

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-washington-state-troopers-ticketing-aggressive-drivers-20111012,0,6010712.story


Washington State Troopers ticketing aggressive drivers
Officers are looking for five violations; speed, following too close, driver inattention, failure to yield and driving over the centerline

SEATTLE—
Truck driver Dean Peterson has been behind the wheel for Charlie's Produce for two decades. He’s noticed in the last few years that other drivers are more aggressive, swerving in front of him or cutting him off, and in a big rig he may not be able to stop in time.

“We take up more space and people don't necessarily like that,” said Peterson. “The worst case scenario, it can be deadly with a big rig like this.”

That's why Peterson is helping Washington State Trooper with a special patrol.

During the patrol, a trooper rides with Peterson on I-5 around Everett, as other trooper stay in the area in unmarked cars.

If they see a car cut Peterson off, or not keep a proper distance, the blue lights go on and they pull them over.

In just three hours, troopers pulled over 80 cars. Last month, a similar patrol pulled over more than one hundred vehicles.

The state patrol started these patrols after noticing an increase in car-semi collisions since 2010.

“The numbers start becoming alarming to us when we start seeing an increase in collisions,” said Trooper Keith Leary.

Car-truck collisions are extremely dangerous and often lead to injuries.

On Tuesday night in Lynnwood, a car crashed into a truck and was dragged 800 feet. The passengers were critically injured.

Semi-trucks are typically forty times heavier than a car. Truckers have less maneuverability and need a much longer distance to stop.

As a rule, troopers say drivers should never merge in front of a semi, unless they can see both headlights of the truck and the front windshield.

I used Jeanie Mucklestone for a tire noise ticket and she got me off. I was a happy customer. The only thing I had to do was send her a copy of the citation--no missed work, etc. And yes, it's worth it to keep your insurance from jacking the hell out of your rates for two years. Good luck with it.

Whats up? How ya been CW00BlackTA? Was it Clint?

It's such a minor offense that it won't affect your insurance rates and odd's are won't even register or come up on your record. I guess if you got the money to piss away on a lawyer over something so small, maybe the judge will take that into consideration and believe you. G/L either way..

There are quite a few jobs/careers out there that depend on a clean driving record, and not just delivery jobs either. A lot of engineering, city, county jobs are doing more background screens on potential employees as well. There are a lot of reasons to keep a clean driving record these days.

Mike

If you decide to fight it without a lawyer ask for "discovery" and ask for the video specifically. Many of the new cop video systems are a DVR & actually record 8 minutes prior to the officer activating his lights.

We recently beat a ticket with this, don't let cops get away with this type of crap. In our case it clearly showed what the officer saw which was nothing.

Give Jeannie a call. She does good work!

I am really surprised that you received a ticket for this. It sounds like the violation you were cited for was minor, as you did not have excessive speed and there was no accident involved. With a clean record you might get off with just court costs, at least that's how I would predict it in Maryland.

I received this same citation in Pennsylvania and fought in court. I just simply said the truck driver signaled me in once I hit my turn signal. The judge said why did you not explain that to the officer when he pulled you over? I said I did not feel it was the right time or place on the side of the road to explain details and wanted to explain in court. The judge thanked me and said dismissed.