People faced with municipal court tickets sometimes wonder if they should try to represent themselves. Others are curious as to just what an experienced municipal court attorney will do for them. Here are some of the highlights of the steps we take for our clients in most municipal court actions:

Initial Client Interview, Preliminary Case Assessment and Retainer:  We provide our clients with a written retainer agreement that sets forth in writing exactly what our representation will cost you, and what we will do for the money you pay us. We will discuss with you in detail the circumstances leading to your ticket or tickets. This enables us to form an initial impression of both how to evaluate and how to best defend your case, which, of course, we share with you. We will make sure that you understand the range of fines, costs, jail time, license suspension, etc. that you are possibly facing, along with the non-obvious impact of the tickets, such as insurance surcharges and administrative penalties. We also offer, where appropriate, practical advice on related matters, like making sure your insurance company has been notified of the incident in question.

Entry of Appearance:  We will advise the Court in writing (by regular mail and fax, where appropriate) of our representation of you. As with all of our correspondence on your behalf, we will send a copy to you.

Waiver of Arraignment:  The Court will advise you of a date when you are to come to Court to have the charges against you read to you in open court. This reading of the charges is called an arraignment. Most people would prefer to avoid the expense, inconvenience and embarrassment of having to go to Court to have this take place. In most cases, we can arrange to have this appearance waived. If it is not possible, we can either go with you or give you guidance as to how to make this experience less painful.

Entry of Not Guilty Plea:  We will advise the Court, in writing, of your plea of Not Guilty to each of the charges against you. Remember, it is the State’s job to prove that you are guilty and to do so beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not your obligation to prove yourself innocent or to “disprove” the State’s case.

A Comprehensive Demand For Relevant Discovery:  We demand, in writing, of the Prosecution, the Court and the Police all documents, recordings, data and other information upon which the State might potentially rely in trying to prove its case against you. Our discovery demands are both comprehensive and specific. Although there is usually a charge for such discovery, we generally will pay for it out of the money you have provided to us as our fee.

Analysis of the Discovery Received:  We will, upon receipt, analyze the discovery in an effort to identify weaknesses in the States’ evidence and for use in the preparation of your defense. These weaknesses might include lack of proper documentation concerning the radar detector or breathalyzer used, the lack of records which would justify the police stopping of you in the first instance, and so on. This review also enables us to evaluate the strength or weakness of the State’s case against you, and gives us insight into how best to prepare for your defense.

Discussion of our Analysis of the Discovery and its Impact on the Case:  We will share with you both the discovery and our analysis of what it means in terms of the apparent strength or weakness of the Prosecutions’ case and in terms of your defense. We will also discuss in more detail, where appropriate, strategies for plea bargaining to a lesser, more acceptable charge.

Consultation with Technical Experts:  Should our initial review of the discovery indicate that an evaluation by technical experts is warranted, we will draw upon our contacts within the defense community and with your agreement, consult and/or engage such technical experts on your behalf. Sometimes we can obtain a preliminary review from them without charge. Areas where such expert review is sometimes appropriate includes breathalyzer results, field sobriety test results, blood test results and radar/laser gun results.

Filing of Appropriate Motions:  Should the discovery or other information indicate that pre-trial motion practice is warranted, we will make them. Examples include motions to suppress evidence, motions to consolidate complaints arising in different municipalities, motions for additional discovery and protective orders. If legal briefs in support of the motion is warranted and allowed, we will prepare and file them. If oral argument on the motions is permitted, we do so.

Obtaining Adjournments of Court Dates:  The Court will, as a matter of course, list a date for the trial of the charges against you. Sometimes that date will conflict with business commitments, family obligations or other significant prior commitments you have. Sometimes the date the Court has chosen would require the trial take place before discovery has been received or we have had a reasonable opportunity to evaluate it. Should these or other circumstances exist, we will seek an appropriate adjournment of the trial date. Although the granting of an adjournment rests within the discretion of the Court, we are generally very successful in obtaining them.

Preparing For Trial:  While the vast majority of cases in municipal court (and other courts) are resolved by settlement or plea bargain, we prepare every case as if it is going to go to trial. Why? Because a defendant that is ready to go to trial, ready to make the case present its case and prove its case is in a better position to effectively negotiate an acceptable plea bargain. Stated more succinctly, we like dealing from a position of strength and knowledge.

Negotiation of An Acceptable Plea Bargain:  Effective plea bargaining requires many things.  Some of them are:

 -  A thorough knowledge of your case and the Prosecutions’ case. A
comprehensive knowledge of not only what the charges against you require to be proved, but what the range of fines, penalties, points, surcharges, licensure loss and jail time that accompany each of those charges;

-  Knowledge of alternative charges with lesser penalties that are likely to be both factually supported and acceptable to the Court;

-  Credibility with the police officers, prosecutors and judges;

-  Knowledge of “the best deal” available for any given type of case, and the willingness and ability to argue persuasively for it.

Trying the Case:  If an acceptable plea agreement can’t be reached, we’ll try your case. Trials take place after the pleas are taken, and typically go late into the evening or late in the afternoon (depending on when your court session takes place). Regardless of how late or how long it takes, we’ll try your case if needed or desired.

Putting Through The Plea Agreement:  We are able to reach a sensible, acceptable plea agreement with the Prosecution in most cases. This requires, however, that a factual record be made with the Court as to what that agreement is and the facts that support that plea. We will guide you through this process so that the plea that is acceptable to both you and the Prosecution and is accepted by the Court.

Securing a Civil Reservation:  One of the items we routinely negotiate for and obtain in our plea agreements is, in cases involving potential civil liability, is an on-the-record stipulation that your plea to the traffic or other ticket involved cannot be used against you in any subsequent civil proceeding. In practical terms, this means that if you had an automobile accident involving injury or property damage, we can resolve the traffic tickets that were issued against you in municipal court without impacting your ability to defend yourself against any possible civil lawsuits arising out of the same incident.

Client Follow-Up:  Sometimes clients have questions relating to their tickets after their Court action has been concluded. Sometimes they wish our input or advice on other legal matters. We are pleased to do so, because at Bowne Barry & Barry, our practice is built on referrals by satisfied clients.

Email: bbl@BowneBarryLaw.com