If you are thinking about hiring a Washington ticket lawyer, please contact us well before your hearing date. Hiring a WA State traffic attorney after you have already gone to court and lost the hearing is a bit like trying to unscramble an egg. No matter how hard we may try, it’s very, very hard for us to get that toothpaste back in the tube.
At this point, the damage has really already been done. We can often do a lot to help keep a ticket off of your record if you hire us BEFORE the hearing. Unfortunately, if you hire us afterwards, everything becomes much more complicated.
One of our Washington traffic attorneys will be forced to try and figure out what evidence was put into the record, whether any objections were properly made, and what the testimony was allowed into the record. We will also have to review the judge’s specific findings and rulings. We are also extremely limited on what we can argue during an appeal.
An appeal is not an entirely new trial. Only certain aspects of the original trial can be re-argued. It is also very expensive – both in terms of time and in terms of filing fees. Generally, it is very cost prohibitive to hire an attorney to appeal a Washington traffic ticket. The one exception to this rule is where the conviction will result in a license suspension. In such situations, it may make sense to have an experienced Washington traffic lawyer file and argue an appeal.
Here’s the moral of the story: An ounce of prevention is far better than a pound of cure. If at all possible, hire a WA State traffic lawyer as soon as possible after your are issued a ticket.