Speed Trap Defense In Illinois

I got caught driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit in Illinois. It's my first time and I don't want it to be on my record. What should I do?

Speeding more than 20 mph but less than 30 mph over the speed limit in Illinois requires a mandatory court appearance: you must appear before the traffic court judge even if you intend to plead guilty. In most situations, court supervision is an option for offenses of this nature. If you ask for and receive court supervision, and you comply with the terms of court supervision, the offense will be discharged (typically after four months, although this may vary depending on where you are in the state) and will not appear on your driving record. Expect to pay significant fines, probably in the neighborhood of $500 once all costs are added in, and you will almost certainly be required to attend traffic school.If you were more than 30 mph over the speed limit, court supervision is most probably not an option. Speeding over 30 mph is a serious traffic offense and may, at the prosecutor's discretion, be prosecuted as a misdemeanor for which you may be sentenced to jail (although the court would likely suspend any such sentence on a first offender). If you are in this situation, you're going to want an attorney.Really, for any offense other than a minor offense for which a court appearance is not required, you probably want an attorney who specializes in traffic cases to get advice specific to your situation. There may be ways to get the offense reduced (e.g. amending it to an "equipment violation" as suggested by Christopher Hawk) that the prosecutor has the option to agree to, but the chances of making this happen are a lot higher if you have an attorney handling the case who is familiar with the court and the prosecutor, than if you try to go it by yourself. The attorney fees will be worth it just in the long-term insurance premium savings: the average increase in insurance premiums, over time, due to a single speeding ticket in Illinois is $744.

How do you get a speeding ticket dismissed?

First, don't be an ass to the officer writing you the speeding ticket.  The more boring and compliant you are, the more likely it is that the officer will not see you as a threat and therefore may forget about you entirely when it comes time to go to court and fight the ticket.  If you tip your hand and rant and rave about how he's going to lose his badge and he's getting sued and you're going to court over this, well, obviously he or she is likely to be a lot more prepared when it comes time to go to court.  Instead, politely ask the officer if he would give you a warning this time, since you never break any traffic laws and you are thankful that he's there keeping the neighborhood secure.Second, its a speeding ticket, so creating doubt should be pretty easy.  How can he prove that it was specifically your car that was speeding?  Do you have any witnesses?  Does he have any witnesses?  Adamantly declare that you were not in fact speeding and he must have the wrong car, since there were so many going by at the time.  In fact, there were cars passing you and you were doing the speed limit.Third, acquire the work schedules of the police working traffic and schedule your trial for a time when the officer will be working or otherwise indesposed.  This is how so-called ticket clinics work.  Might not be a bad idea to hire one of these yahoos if you don't think you can pull it off.  Bottom line is, go to court and contest the ticket but make sure the officer will not show up to court, and the case will be dismissed.Fourth, if possible negotiate with the prosecution.  Ask for a plea deal or to attend traffic school to have the case dismissed.  You may be able to avoid getting points on your license but still have to pay the fine.  Points are bad, fines are not as bad.