Minor speeding tickets generally are petty offenses, not criminal offenses. These are tickets for going up to 29 mph over the limit. If you are speeding 30 mph or more over the limit, it can be charged as a misdemeanor – a criminal offense in Will County, Illinois. For a minor speeding ticket, you have a few options. You can pay the fine (which is basically pleading guilty), choose to attend traffic school (to avoid a conviction), or request a court date to challenge the ticket in court. Be aware that pleading guilty by paying the fine means a conviction on your driving record. If you get more than three convictions in 12 months, your license will be suspended (more than two in 24 months if you’re under 21). If your goal is to get the ticket dismissed or reduced, you should talk to a Will County traffic attorney.
You have the right to attempt this on your own, but it’s not usually successful without hiring someone who knows the system. For a major speeding ticket, you are going to have to go to court, and you are looking at a possible criminal conviction. Speeding 30-39 mph over the limit is a Class B misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of $1,500. Speeding more than 40 mph over the limit is a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $2,500. For a first offense, you should be able to avoid jail time, but if it were us, we’d hire an experienced Joliet, Illinois traffic defense attorney to make sure. Even if a ticket can’t be dismissed, an attorney may be able to get the violation reduced to something less serious. Court supervision is considered a good outcome in many cases, if you’re eligible (depends on the offense and your record). If you don’t get another ticket during the period of supervision, then it won’t go on your record. More serious violations are not eligible for supervision, such as speeding 40 mph over the limit or more.