Involved in an accident

[FL450]

Friday morning after dropping my daughter off at school and headed to Hobby Airport to pre-flight the corporate plane for a trip to the Caymans I was involved in an accident on the Gulf freeway. The cars ahead of me came to an abrupt stop and I could not stop, The pavement was just moist enough from the heavy fog the heavy fog the night before to bring the oils to the surface and I slid on them like ice, BTW I had just put over 600 dollars of Michelin tires on my Focus 3 days earlier. I hit the car in front of me and sent her into the truck in front of her. She had some whiplash and went to the hospital as a precaution, no airbags deployed in either car.
The HPD officer was a rookie with a training Sargent, when the rookie ask for my license and insurance I handed them to him along with my CHL in the middle, he pulled the CHL out from the middle first thing, studied it for a moment, handed it back to me and stated he didn't need that, turned around and started to walk away then turned back and said thank you for showing it to him.
I was written up for failure to control speed, the Sargent was apologetic for having to write me up and said that unless the other people involved show up to court which he doubts that he recommended for me to plead innocent. He then stated that unless they witnessed the accident they cant contest. he then said its up to me but if I decide not to just ask for deferred adjudication. I had a ticked for 43 in a 30 back in July that I just took Defensive driving for.
Any suggestions if I plead innocent what my defense would be? I would like to defend myself?
If I choose Differed Adjudication will that affect my CHL?

[Charles L. Cotton]

Hire David Sprecher 713-639-2600; you may not be able to take defensive driving twice within one year. (I'm not certain on that.) You don't want to be "convicted" on the ticket as it has an impact on defending a civil suit. (Either win or please "no contest.") David handles nothing but Class C municipal citations and perhaps only the City of Houston. His fee is equal to the "window fine" for the ticket, or at least it was in the past.

BTW, does your screen name FL450 mean flight level 450?

Chas.

[FL450]

Thank You, I will give him a call

[boomerang]

+1 for David Sprecher in Houston

It's a mill. But it's a competent mill.

[Dan20703]

+1 for David Sprecher in Houston

It's a mill. But it's a competent mill.

I have utilized his services with great success. Got the ticket dismissed with the same cost as the ticket. A friend of mine has used him several times with the same outcome.

[austin-tatious]

Failure to control speed...it's a traffic ticket, correct? If I had a second ticket in a year and could not take defensive driving, I would just pay it and take my lumps with insurance for a while. It will not affect my CHL. But would that expose me to civil liability?

Yes, IANAL.

[CompVest]

There is deferred adjudication.

[austin-tatious]

There is deferred adjudication.

Again, IANAL. I have a few questions.

Does deferred adjudication (DA) protect you from civil liability? What terms of community supervision will be imposed by the judge to complete DA and "get your record wiped clean" (i.e., you are deemed to have not been charged or convicted)? How long will it take to complete those terms? What does "wiped clean" mean in the state of Texas? Will an employer find out about it in a background check? How much is it going to cost to pay the court fees and your attorney's costs?

I prefer, for a traffic ticket (assuming I cannot take defensive driving) to just pay the fine...especially since it does not affect my CHL.

[srothstein]

There is deferred adjudication.

Again, IANAL. I have a few questions.

Does deferred adjudication (DA) protect you from civil liability? What terms of community supervision will be imposed by the judge to complete DA and "get your record wiped clean" (i.e., you are deemed to have not been charged or convicted)? How long will it take to complete those terms? What does "wiped clean" mean in the state of Texas? Will an employer find out about it in a background check? How much is it going to cost to pay the court fees and your attorney's costs?

I prefer, for a traffic ticket (assuming I cannot take defensive driving) to just pay the fine...especially since it does not affect my CHL.

For a traffic ticket, deferred adjudication is usually the paying of a probation fee (about equal to the fine) and six months of not getting another ticket in that court's jurisdiction. And it is not reported to the state as either a conviction or anything else, so your record stays clean.

Just to be technically clear on things, nothing in a court case protects you or subjects you to civil liability. The two are completely separate and are decided completely separately. Pleading guilty to a traffic ticket may be able to be used as evidence in a civil case, but it does not in and of itself open you up to liability. Pleading not guilty or winning a trial on a ticket does not protect you from civil liability at all, as the standards of evidence are lower. OJ found this out a few years ago to the tune of many millions of dollars in liability after being found not guilty of the crime.

If we are just talking traffic tickets, you may take defensive driving once per year, but you may have as many deferred adjudication cases as the judges are willing to give you. None of it will affect your CHL and both of these will keep your driving record clear. In addition to insurance reasons, it is important to keep your driving record clear to avoid those very expensive "surcharges" that were implemented for having too many points on you license. Three tickets in three years (and sometimes only two tickets if they are serious enough) will cost you an extra $100 per year for three years. And the fees go up as you get more than 6 points or if you get other offenses (DWI gets very expensive surcharges).

If we talk other types of crimes than traffic offenses, the rules change tremendously. If it is not a drug or alcohol offense, disorderly conduct, or a class C family violence charge, I would just pay the class C fines. The charge will be on your record permanently, but it is very hard to find outside of that county. If we talk about higher offenses than class C, then my advice is to get the best lawyer you can. Everything higher than a class C can really mess up your life.

For your other question, for anything other than defensive driving, the judge can impose almost any rules he wants. The ones I gave are general practice in my area of the state and your area might differ. here ar eno set guidelines in the law for deferred adjudication so judges can have a lot of leeway.

[FL450]

Thanks to all that replied, I would like to keep this off my record, insurance is pricey enough with a clean driving record.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

Charles Cotton, re: FL450.

My guess is that it's a Lexus model. This is a GUESS.

SIA

[FL450]

Hire David Sprecher 713-639-2600; you may not be able to take defensive driving twice within one year. (I'm not certain on that.) You don't want to be "convicted" on the ticket as it has an impact on defending a civil suit. (Either win or please "no contest.") David handles nothing but Class C municipal citations and perhaps only the City of Houston. His fee is equal to the "window fine" for the ticket, or at least it was in the past.

BTW, does your screen name FL450 mean flight level 450?

Chas.

Sorry Charles, I must have missed that question on my screen name.
Yes it does stamd for Flight Leval 450. I fly a Citation Bravo for a small Oil and Gas company in Houston although it might be sold, we are looking for anothe Citation right now, possibly an XLS.
I chose FL450 because that is the service ceiling of our aircraft.
I know you and Steve R are pilots and I am sure there are many more on the forum, it might be nice to start a flying thread.

[FL450]

Charles Cotton, re: FL450.

My guess is that it's a Lexus model. This is a GUESS.

SIA

I can't remember but now that you bring it up it was a crosover SUV, it could very well have been, I need to see if the Police report is online yet, It wasn't earlier in the week.

[austin-tatious]

There is deferred adjudication.

Again, IANAL. I have a few questions.

Does deferred adjudication (DA)...not affect my CHL.

For a traffic ticket, deferred adjudication is...judges can have a lot of leeway.

That is VERY helpful. Thanks very much for the detailed answer. I suppose you'll send me a bill?