Traffic tickets in South Carolina can range from the basic moving violation to serious issues such as drunk driving. Depending on the circumstances of your ticket, you may want to consider hiring an attorney. However, it is important to know when a lawyer can help you and when you may simply be able to help yourself.

 What Can an Attorney Do?

Before calling an attorney, you should have an understanding of the different ways he or she could help you. There are essentially three main ways that a lawyer could assist you with your legal situation, and those are the following:

Negotiate:

Keep in mind that attorneys often have some kind of working relationship with the prosecution that would be on your case. Lawyers can sometimes use those relationships to your advantage by helping to negotiate a lesser charge or less harsh penalties that may not put points on your license.

Providing counsel:

During consultation appointments, lawyers will listen to the details of your case and determine one or more courses of action you could take. Be sure you are aware of the lawyer’s fees before asking for help or advice.

Representation:

If you plan on going to court, you will likely want to have proper legal representation. Attorneys can build a strong defense, and they understand the technicalities involved in the judicial process. Often times in traffic court, an attorney can appear on your behalf to contest the ticket without you ever having to go back to Court.

Especially when it comes to serious charges like DUI or tickets that could lead to a license suspension, you should consider getting legal help. Traffic lawyers know how to bargain for case dismissals or negotiate by having a defendant pay a fine or go on probation.

 When to Use an Attorney

According to Bankrate.com, more and more municipalities and local governments are relying on the funds from traffic tickets for revenue. Many states have found ways to get even more cash by adding fees for people with repeat offenses. Therefore, law enforcement may be doubling down on trying to issue citations.  A moving violation at first pass may seem like no big deal. However, the fines associated with it in addition to the spike you’ll likely see in your insurance premium may have you thinking otherwise. Further, if you have accumulated a certain number of points on your license, you could face a loss of driving privileges. Therefore, you may want to weigh the costs and benefits of hiring a lawyer. You might find it is more affordable to pay an attorney’s fees to get a ticket reduced or dismissed as opposed to suffering the consequences of the violation, and its effects on your license, insurance, and peace of mind.  Each client and traffic ticket is specific, and our traffic ticket lawyers are happy to offer you a free consultation on your case.