So what exactly is MyTrafficMan.net? For years people have asked me “What kind of law do you practice?” And I tell them that I am a Traffic Man, I focus on traffic related cases. I want you to be able to say “My traffic man is Ziad Youssef. So we created the website to handle minor traffic offences all the way to
felony
cases. We answer questions about how a
speeding ticket
affects your
insurance
, your
commercial drivers license
, and how a
ticket
can affect a
teenage driver
. We also answer the tougher questions, will I go to prison over this, is a
DUI
a
felony
, etc. (Generally your first
DUI
is NOT a
felony
). We answer these questions every day, so we put up this information on MyTrafficMan.net.
When dealing with tougher cases, I like to remind people that it is FREE to come in to get some advice. People are intimidated about calling a
lawyer
because they think it will cost them money. So whether or not you can afford to hire us, whether or not we can come to terms on this case, you should come in and get some
free legal advice
. So for the first hour, we walk our clients through very good information about their case and how their case is going to proceed. And even if they can’t afford to hire us, we have performed our service: we've made you feel a little better about what is going to happen. If they understand the value of having a good team on their side, then they will hire us. And that is how we work: we assign a team to every case. Even if one
lawyer
may know everything about a case, having more people on it ensures a better result. One of the most important aspects for us is educating the client. If they go to MyTrafficMan.net, they can go to the “You Should Know” link where they will find many blogs, comments, and information about traffic law, as well as a tutorial on how to prepare and act for a
DUI investigation
. There are many wrong ways to act in a situation, but only a few right ways. With
DUI emphasis patrols
coming up soon, it is important that clients watch the 3 part tutorial in order to be prepared for their trial. Easiest piece of advice: don’t get in your car if you've been drinking or using
marijuana
. Especially with the uncertainty of how long THC takes to metabolize in each individual’s system. They measure active THC levels in your blood, which should dissipate after a few hours. But different readings may be enough to charge you with a
DUI
. Best precaution is to just not take the chance. It's also advisable for everyone to always check the equipment on their car before they drive (lights, exhaust leaks, etc). Also, if you find yourself needing to make a last minute turn, just don’t. Go straight, make the next turn. All that will do is draw law enforcement's attention.
Road rage is a very significant phenomenon that law enforcement takes very seriously these days. People end up doing things they didn't know they had the capacity to do, just because they were stuck in traffic, late to work, or reading a frustrating email (double whammy!). Also,
texting and driving
has been compared to
driving while impaired
. And if the officer has reasonable belief that you are driving while impaired, you could be arrested and find yourself having to explain a
DUI investigation
. That can come with up to 1 year in prison and a $5,000 fine. Avoid the things that make you drive poorly.
We commit the resources of our firm to working a case. We dedicate one attorney to research the legal issues of the case, one attorney to negotiating the case, and if the case goes to trial, we dedicate up to 2 attorneys for that. We always try to get things resolved without going to trial by listening to what the client wants. In the first interview, before we decide to invest the resources of the firm, we listen to the expectations of the client. We then gauge which of those expectations we can deliver. If we can deliver the expectations of the client, then we have done a good job for them. After we have had that meeting with the client, we have a round table meeting with the firm. A little discourse and disagreement among
lawyers
always results in a good outcome. We come up with a common goal for the case and get started on it. Sometimes that involves rallying community support, or deciding to lobby the prosecutor’s office for one position or another. These are usually for the bigger cases that affect the community. Most cases go by without anyone knowing about it. But sometimes the community is touched by a case and wants to be involved. That is why it is so valuable to have a legal team; people can be assigned to each aspect. Researching the legal issues to the case ultimately is what gets you the best result. Prosecutors will tell you “Your client is a nice person, but give me a legitimate reason to do this”. If you haven’t effectively researched the facts, you can’t effectively present a valid reason. The identity of the client is only what the prosecutor sees on paper, it’s our job to bring life to that identity for them.
The My Traffic Man Difference
Ziad: MyTrafficMan.net is more than just a website; it’s a link to a select alliance of top-caliber
lawyers
. We practice
criminal defense
with a focus on
traffic related offences
like
DUI
, sometimes more severe cases such as
Vehicular Assault
or
Vehicular Homicide
, or issues as basic as a
speeding or parking ticket
. The website is a great way to learn more about what we do as
traffic defense attorneys
. We are helping with cases where the most you could lose is a $20 fine to cases where you could get 20 years to life. It could come from “I forgot to feed the meter” to “I didn't pay attention for a spit second”. Some of these are things that can literally life changing, things that you can’t take back. People then have to make choices about how to move forward and we want to be there to help. Often the people thrown into the legal system after a split second decision have never had to navigate the legal system before so we like to make ourselves available to explain what the process is. We then like to help them come up with a road map out of their situation.
We get phone calls where people don’t know where to turn, from families facing the embarrassment of not knowing how this happened or how to proceed. Some families just want to go to the prosecutor’s office and tell them how good their son is in hopes that they will take mercy on them and let them walk away. But, it doesn't work that way. The prosecutor has a duty to the public that goes beyond one simple case or one set of facts. They have to try and be consistent with these cases. Families first have to realize that it is okay to seek help and take steps to find it. Families involved in tragic accidents like this get bonded very quickly. Things that may have been polarizing in their family before get shed and there is a uniting factor brought about by the tragedy that has occurred. For the most part each member is supportive, but each person has their own opinion about how to proceed. It is important that you choose somebody that can keep a unified goal in a case. The best strategy is to have a common goal and you have to be prepared to have faith in that goal the entire way through the process. If you can maintain that goal, then you are going to get there.
Today we have Matthew here with us to tell us about the night he got “The Call” Matt: Our son had gone to the hospital at 4am and called us to tell us what had happened. Then he told us that the police need him to hang up because they are taking him away. That was a wake up call right there, and that’s when we knew we needed to get help. Friends and family came out of the woodwork to help, but the biggest help was that they recommended
lawyers
right away. Both my son and I selected Ziad because we felt very comfortable with him and he clearly cared about this case. Just in the interview we could see that the wheels were already turning in his mind as he was figuring out how to proceed. I became the buffer for my son through the whole process, being the one in contact with Ziad, the
insurance
, etc. I was able to form an excellent rapport with Ziad.
Ziad: Matthew was so involved that he really became an advocate for his son as much as I was a
legal advocate
for his son. I am so glad that I was in tune with what was going on because that’s exactly what a family needs in that situation. They need someone to not just think about what’s the decision between what
lawyer
, you need someone to think about what you’re going through, what are you feeling, and to help you understand those thoughts and those fears. I was very grateful that I could do that for Matthew and his family. This whole process has made me a better
lawyer
. The reputation most
lawyers
get is that they never return your calls; they are never available when you call, and you never get a chance to talk to them. I've made that a top priority in my office, but still it is very difficult to return everyone’s calls and to be available right when they reach out needing an answer. But, what Matthew would do is type out a list of questions for me and send them in an email. I appreciated that so much that I have started to recommend that to all of my clients. I want to answer their questions and I don’t want them to have to wait so long to get a response. This has allowed me to think over all these questions and respond to them in a much faster manner.
Matthew: Right away, the reaching out of our son’s friends was unbelievable. It was an experience that impressed me and our faith in God really helped keep us grounded. It kept us focused what was most important. This kind of situation tends to bring families together to help each other out, not to worry about the little petty things that annoy or irritate us about each other. It was over a year from when the
accident
happened to when my son was sentenced. There were times, while I was the buffer for him and the family, that there was still some resistance by the family about how the case was going. I knew that at the legal level Ziad was doing the best thing for my son. But, at the emotional “don’t-want-him-to-suffer-more-than-he-already-has” level, we had some clashing going on. I had to step in and stand firm to stick with the decision my son and I had made. By not letting anyone sway us away from that decision allowed for a ruling that was amazing. Our son was actually able to stay local and keep his job, which is almost unheard of with what had happened. If we had just gone straight to the prosecuting attorney it would have undoubtedly been a very different result.
Lawyers Concerned About New Trends in How Courts Handle DUI Cases in Washington State
Are “Blow and Go” devices becoming more common? It’s a new trend among courts to place these kinds of conditions on drivers while their case is still pending. Under constitutional right, if you are accused of a crime, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. So, the thought of suffering the expense of something like an
ignition interlock device
or in more severe cases an
ankle bracelet monitor
is foreign to people who appreciate the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. But, it is a regular occurrence for people to be required to use these devices while their case is pending. If you were arrested for a
DUI
, taken to the station, and blow a .08 that .08 should be considered inaccurate until proven true beyond a reasonable doubt. So we always encourage people to go to court after they are released and enter a Not Guilty plea. That then brings into question every aspect of their case: where you driving or at the time were you actually over the legal limit? Then the court will make a preliminary determination about what types of conditions to put on you while the case is pending.
On Sept.18th some new laws came into place that requires the
interlock device
under certain circumstances. These rules are largely political fear tactics to discourage repeat offenders, which they can justify by saying that it is for public safety. However, we don’t believe that there should be any stipulations on being “presumed innocent” because you are not guilty at this point. Traditionally, an
interlock device
would be used after you have been convicted of a
DUI
to prevent you from doing it again. We are also seeing the use of
transdermal ankle monitors
, what we call SCRAM devices, which monitors your blood alcohol content through your skin and alerts a
probation officer
that you have been drinking. This means that before you have even been convicted you have to meet with
probation officers
. All of this seems to be about maintaining the idea that the courts aren’t just letting these people back out on the roads after being suspected of
drinking and driving
. But this way for the courts to protect themselves has gone a bit overboard by our estimations because you ARE presumed innocent, but a
DUI
case is one of those cases where you seem to be treated as guilty before you have been proven guilty.
DUI
cases also take a long time to go to trial, possibly 6, 8, to 12 months. And if you are paying $80-$100 a month for an
interlock device
, that expense adds up quickly for something you haven’t even been proven guilty for. And you don’t get reimbursed for that money; it all comes out of your pocket even if you aren’t convicted. SCRAM devices cost around $90 a week. Now, there is a court ruling that says the court can impose restrictive conditions while the case is pending if they feel that there is a community safety concern. However, under the same rule, they are counseled to put the least restrictive options in place when possible. So, in cases where people simply can’t afford those fees, then they are only left with the most restrictive option: sitting in jail. We’ve had a client that felt so burdened by these restrictions that they were compelled to just plead guilty so that the case could be done. In our minds, we feel that when the state requests these types of pre-trial restrictions is a challenge to your constitutional right to a trial, a fair process.
We want to urge the state to be very conservative when considering these types of devices for people because they can cause people to make decisions not based on the merits of their case but on whether or not they can afford to continue. This may be due to
Washington State’s “Zero Tolerance” policy
when it comes to
drinking and driving
. This means people who have simply been accused of a
DUI
feel immediate consequences. If you don’t act within 20 days you lose your driving privileges. If they don’t get proper council within 24 hours, they could be ordered on these types pre-trial conditions without having the opportunity to have their full case heard yet. So we encourage people in these situations to come out and get some free advice on this so we can help guide you through the process. The majority of our clients simply made a bad judgment, feel terrible, and realize how much they have jeopardized their future. They want to try to make it better for themselves as well as their communities. These are the people that have these types of situations come up maybe once in a lifetime. We get a lot of controversy on Facebook about helping these people who “just kill other people on the road” or “just a menace to society”. But in reality, the majority of our client base is people who have barely blown
over the limit
or even under the limit. This is why it is imperative that you get advice right away, because these conditions and stigmas can be placed on you within 12-24 hours after you’ve been arrested. Having a
lawyer
there to protect your rights is essential to having the least restrictive conditions put on you.
In other news, our “Slow Down and Read” fundraiser is going very well! See the fliers at any of the rural libraries or go to MyTrafficMan.net that will link you directly to the donation page on the Whatcom County Library Foundation website. Make a donation in the next 15 days in the month of November and come in to get your free representation on a traffic ticket. We had a pledge for about $700 this week, which has helped us fast approach our secret target goal!
Back to School: What Students Should Know About MIP, Disorderly Conduct, Marijuana, DUI, and Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Back to school! Parents helping kids get settled back into school at WWU and UW. Students like to throw house parties to get to know one another, but they can cause a lot of problems for their future. Many students are 18,19, 20 years old going to parties with liquor around, and the city is concerned because when students start drinking they can make decisions that can put them in danger. So they have started up party patrols. But, these party patrols can end up with charges like
Minor in Possession (MIP)
. If you happen to be under 18 and get an
MIP
you could lose your license for a whole year.
If they are charged with
disorderly conduct
or even worse,
making liquor available to minors
. The landlord can give 3 days notice to evict them for breaking the law as well as sue for breach of contract. So now are you not only facing
criminal charges
in court, but you owe all this lease money and are getting kicked out anyways.
This year we’re going to try and do a “Know Your Rights” seminar at Western so if you’re throwing a house party you understand what the limits are because an
MIP
is a pretty serious charge. It can carry up to a $5,000 fine and 1 year in jail.
Furnishing liquors to minors
may not be a serious as it doesn’t carry with it as much jail or fines. But, it sounds so bad on your record. And that’s the whole point. You’re sending your kids off to get an education and their coming back with a
criminal record
with their diploma. We don’t want that!
But, back to
disorderly conduct
.
Disorderly conduct
is usually defined as loud noise or party. Usually what officers will do is park about 50 feet away from the suspect’s house, listen, and see if they can hear any noise from outside. If they do then they can call in and get a warrant for a loud noise party. They surround the house, tell everyone to stay inside, and then walk in dividing the house into people over 21, under 18, and between. Then they start asking for IDs and running tests. Students have never experienced that, they’re just there to meet new people and make friends. If they don’t know what to do at that very moment they’re going to get themselves into some trouble. We want them to know they have a
right to remain silent
, a right to politely decline to take any tests. In
Washington
they have to give their name, but they don’t have to make any confessions to the officer.
After that, the main concern is that a lot of students think that
marijuana
is now completely legal in this state. That’s not true; it’s not legal for anyone under 21. So if students are out smoke
marijuana
, 1 they’re smoking in public it’s still an
infraction
and 2 if they’re under 21 they’re going to be charged with
possession of marijuana
under 40 grams if they’re just smoking. If they’re on financial aid and get convicted of that charge they’ll lose that financial aid for up to a year. On second or third offenses you could lose that financial aid for life. It’s a pretty significant consequence for what people consider to just be “Ah, I’m just smoking a bit of
marijuana
because they said it is legal.” and it’s much more than that. So we really want students to be aware and take advantage of any seminars that help explain their rights.
The other issue that is going around is people don’t really understand what smoking
marijuana
in public is. The other day we had a case where a person was accused of smoking
marijuana
in their car. This raised the question of whether or not that’s a public place. The definition of a public place arguably doesn’t include the inside of a car. But, we want to caution anyone that smokes to not do it in a car because it opens the door to a
DUI investigation
. There might not be any reason to believe that you’re impaired. But, if there is the odor of
marijuana
now the officer is justified in asking more questions due to the smell. If you choose to do things carefully and wisely you can avoid a whole lot of trouble and a whole lot of expense.
If you’re pulled over for
marijuana
the first thing we advise clients is to never lie to an officer, but you’re under no obligation to confess. So politely decline to answer any questions with statements like “Officer, I’d rather not answer that question.” which is a very simple response that most officers are going to respect. Of course some of them will attempt to do their duty by asking more intense questions like “Well, I smell some
marijuana
(or
alcohol
) here. I really want to make sure you’re okay to drive. You sure you don’t want to step outside and do a few tests for me?” That’s a very crucial moment in the investigation. You need to let the officer know that you’re willing to cooperate with the officer if they have safety concerns. But, you do not want to do any
field sobriety tests
. No tests on the side of the road and if they arrest you prematurely then anything they obtain in the investigation based on the premature arrest, an arrest without
probable cause
, gets thrown out. Most people fall into the thinking that they’re going to be able to talk their way out or prove they’re not impaired. But, they’re not pass/fail tests. The officer is just checking off as many clues as they can to justify the arrest.
Let’s go back to
furnishing alcohol to minors
. It simply means you make it available in a place that you have control over. It can be your house, but you don’t even have to be there if you allow the party to occur. We’ve had a few parents that have learned this the hard way by allowing their kids to have parties. They as well as the kids got accused of the
furnishing alcohol to minors
. It looks very bad on your record and it is a
criminal charge
. It’s especially bad if there is driving involved afterwards. This is the biggest concern for the city and county: If you’re allowing this to happen and then people aren’t make good decisions afterwards it could be a big risk.
With an
MIP
most people don’t realize is that you don’t have to be holding a beer or a cup. You just have to dominion or control over it. You just have to have the ability to have access to it. That’s called
constructive possession
. In other words you can get an
MIP
without actually consuming just by having access to alcohol. You can go to a party with a friend, not drink, and still get an
MIP
. Of course if you can go back and prove that you had no control over it you can probably get it excused. But, in the mean time you’re accused of a crime, you have to explain it, and even if you enter into a
diversion program
the consequences can still be the same. For example the court can still notify the
DOL
and your license can be suspended for a year.
It’s always a good idea to get some advice on the issues before going to court. That first day in court the court determines there was
probable cause
. By getting an
attorney
involved you can possibly bypass that entire finding. The other thing is on the first day courts offer a
deferred sentence
. This means you’re guilty today and for a year. If at the end of the year you don’t get into any trouble the court will withdraw that guilty plea and enter it as not guilty. Some people are really excited about at some point they’ll be not guilty. But, the truth is if you ever get asked the question “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” the answer has to be “yes” because you pled guilty.
My Traffic Man "Slow Down and Read" Event
Ziad: We are here with Whatcom County Library Foundation (WCLF) director Jennifer Rick talking about our joint “Slow Down and Read” event. MyTrafficMan is sponsoring a fundraiser for the WCLF to encourage people to donate. If they become donors during the month of November, we will defend their
civil traffic infractions
such as a
speeding ticket
for free! We encourage people to donate the face value of their ticket where we would usually charge $250-$500 per ticket. People are welcome to donate more and still come out ahead.
Last year I was invited to a “Branch Out” fundraiser event at Shuksan Golf Course, where I met a gentleman who was very frustrated with a
speeding ticket
he had received. I felt bad for the guy for how much grief it was causing him, so I offered to take it out of his hands and represent him. Since we aren’t allowed to solicit business that way, I offered to do it for free. He refused to receive free service, so he instead donated more than his face value. This gave us the idea to do this again in order to encourage donations to the WCLF. We chose them because I believe that reading is the best way for people to expand their world and there are so many mediums in which to read these days. Encouraging people to read more about the world they may feel is closing in on them offers them the opportunity to have more hope.
Jennifer Rick: The Whatcom County Library Foundation began back in 2005 when a $25,000 PEN/Newman Own
First Amendment
award was given to Joan Airold and the Board of Trustees for its act for Freedom to Read. When the FBI contacted the
Deming
branch of the library system in 2004 and requested the information on all the patrons who had checked out Bin Laden; the man who declared war on America, which is against library policy, our attorney Deborah Garrett squashed the motion. The money that the PEN/Newman Foundation awarded has since funded all of the programs of the Whatcom County Library System (
Blaine, Ferndale, Lynden, Deming, Everson, Sumas
and such). Of course all of the public dollars are still funding us, but this has offered us the opportunity to fund such programs as the
Juvenile Detention Center
Book Club, which allows these young offenders a chance for positive character development though expanding their world by reading. It has also funded the Books for Babies program, which gives a newborn book and information about the importance of reading to your child to every family at St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Birth Center. The library is often a central community hub, not just a place to check out books, and this foundation has helped support that.
Ziad: Donations can be made on the Whatcom County Library Foundation’s website by credit card or PayPal, or by mailing them a check. We haven’t set an amount, but we are encouraging them to donate the face value of the ticket or more. This is unfortunately restricted to
Whatcom County infractions
. Look for the fliers at your local library or come to MyTrafficMan.net to find out more!
In other news, in October we held a “#1 Fan” contest on our Facebook page for the number one fan that went above and beyond that they tell all their friends about MyTrafficMan.net. We had a fan that not only told all of her friends, but went so far as to tattoo the MyTrafficMan logo on herself! Kevin Huntley and Travis were close runners up and we’d like to thank them for all their support, but the winner of the contest and our official #1 Fan is Chloé Saiz! She won 2 tickets and a catered suite at Key Arena for the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis concert!
Meet The My Traffic Man Legal Care Network for DUI, Drug Court, Personal Injury, and Other Traffic Related Violations
Today we meet with some of the MyTrafficMan
legal care
team: Annie, Kaliska, and Sydney.
Annie is the senior clerk who is in charge of the
licensing division
. She has gotten a firm grasp of what it takes to get people
re-licensed
after it has been
suspended
. She doesn't have the paralegal training, but those types of training don’t cover
DUI’s
. So she’s been trained in the office and her background in Business and Banking really helps her ability to assist people through the forms while explaining the process to clients. Mostly she deals with confusion. People who come to her have been caught in the many layers of the process between the court and the
Department of Licensing
, and it’s her job to help them navigate their way through that. Many people become confused because they haven’t had to deal with anything like this before and the many parameters that the
D.O.L
has put onto the structure of the process. There are varying layers of
suspension
that our clients go through. A
Habitual Traffic Offender
will get a
suspension
if they get more than 20
moving violations
in a 5 year period. An
Administrative Suspension
comes with getting a
DUI
, even when the
DOL
has only been informed of your accusation, before even your
criminal case
has gone through court. Annie has become very familiar with that process, so she is well qualified to walk the clients though the paperwork, application process, and petitions needed to help with
reinstatement
. First she identifies what got the client in the situation to begin with which then allows her to put together a good package that shows that the issues have been addressed. This shows that their character now has been rehabilitated and is ready to drive again.
Kaliska came to the office about 2 years ago just after getting out of paralegal training and has become part of the family. She helps our clients find treatment plans that can sometimes even replace a
drug related prison sentence
. In 2010, she was arrested for
Possession with Intent to Deliver
and faced 22 years in prison, but was able to seek treatment through
Drug Court
and avoid that sentence. With that experience and her interest in Law she sought to make a difference for others. When she says she understands what the client is going through, she really does.
Sydney is our
Personal Injury
Paralegal and
Traffic Infraction
Manager.
Personal Injury
is a long process, but by setting up a protection plan to cover their medical bills while in treatment and setting up their wage loss we simplify it. We also stay in touch throughout their treatment process to make sure everything is taken care of. The process set in place by most
insurance companies
is very tedious and intimidating. We aim to take that work off of the clients hands so they can focus on getting the treatment they need, getting better, and moving on with their life.
Despite all of us being very different and coming from very different backgrounds we all operate very well together. It really is a big, well-bonded family. The tedious part of the MyTrafficMan care center is what really makes us shine. Annie provides the client with all the forms that they need and walks them through them all so we can deliver a great package to the
DOL
or court when we need to. Kaliska is a proud graduate of
Drug Court
and provides great service because of her experience there. Sydney provides SO much help for us to be able to provide the type of service we provide.
Legal Care Center: The Care Network of Lawyers For Speeding Tickets, Auto Injury, DUI, and Other Traffic Related Violations in Bellingham, Seattle, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties.
We introduced the idea of a
Legal Care Center
recently and we want to discuss more about what that is. We are focused on taking your
traffic related violations, DUI offences, speeding tickets, auto injury cases
, and pulling them out of your “too hard” box by making it less intimidating. We want to put it in your hands as something manageable.
It all starts when we research the origin of the problem and create a step by step solution for the client to get out of their situation. Many people don’t seek
legal help
due to fear of cost, judgment, etc. In just a 30 minute meeting we can turn their fear into comfort by coming up with a plan they can manage. For example, a law recently changed regarding unpaid
no insurance/no valid operator license tickets
. Both are $550 offences that can quickly get more expensive with fees, interest, or if they go to collections. However, the new law allows these types of
non-moving violations
to not hold up your license. By giving these simple solutions to a client, we let them leave with a plan and a sense of empowerment; a feeling of confidence that they can get out of their problem.
This empowerment comes with a level of accountability which brings us to the second step. Now that we have given them a roadmap out of their problem, they have an obligation to be accountable. They have to follow those steps we've given them in order for us to be able to help them. We don’t want to give them a pill for their headache and tell them to come back when it hurts again. We want them to have a comprehensive solution to the root problem and effectively end their relationship with the court. Once they have completed the steps we've given them, we collect
evidence
that they have done all of the necessary things, and bring that to the court with them. There, we find a solution for them with the court that effectively ends their
probation, legal charge
, or payment obligation. This allows them to no longer be tied to the court and to move on with their lives, which is what we mean by a sustainable, comprehensive solution.
At a MyTrafficMan
Legal Care Center
we train our paralegals on how to identify what the client is feeling first. If they are overwhelmed, we do the research needed to present them with a more manageable perspective on the problem that leaves them feeling empowered. Then we follow up with them to make sure they have been accountable and take that to the court, find the solution in their case (come to a settlement, address probation concerns, or just simple payment plans), and help them see that their problems do have an end. Our goal is that when they leave our care center they feel whole again. We've been doing this for 10 years in our flagship center in
Bellingham
, but going forward we will be bringing that type of service statewide in designated locations such as
Port Townsend, Port Orchard, Kirkland, Vancouver
, and possibly
Spokane
. We want people to see that in the care centers is very effective
legal care
for all types of
traffic violations
, from as serious as
vehicular assault/homicide
to the more common
DUI, reckless driving
, or as simple as a
speeding ticket
and even for
auto injury
. We have a great team to help find
insurance coverage
if a client is overwhelmed by figuring out how to get treatment or to be able to pay their medical bills.
We tell people to hire the
lawyer
they feel most comfortable with. More and more I realize that we don’t just want the client to hire us, we want them to invest their trust in us. We need their confidence in order to deliver the solution they need. I want to turn the
Legal Care Centers
into an environment where the client feels comfortable to tell us what we need to know in order to give them the steps to get out of their situation.
New Washington State DUI Penalties and License Suspensions Taken Very Seriously by Lawyers in Bellingham, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties
Getting
re-licensed
is tedious, but not as hard as people think. It’s simply a process with goals you need to hit. It’s overwhelming if you’re not used to the system. But, fortunately we at MyTrafficMan.net can give you a road map with the proper forms, tell you the process, and give you the whole package to help you through the process.
Unfortunately with the new year came a couple of new ways to get a
suspended license
. A
violation of probation
means a 30 day
suspension
or if already suspended 30 more days are added. If you fail to appear at court for a
criminal case
or fail to respond to a
traffic ticket
that also means your license will be suspended.
Simple things can suspend your license and you won’t necessarily find out until an officer is pulling you over.
Notification of suspension
can be iffy due to the
Department of Licensing (D.O.L.)
sending notification to your last known address. If you have moved and not updated your address with the
D.O.L.
they may not have your most recent address. Thus you won’t get notice that your
license is suspended
.
The most common way people get their
license suspended
is simply they can’t afford to pay due to being financially overwhelmed. In collections a $150 ticket can become $375 with interest charges. That can quickly become very overwhelming.
This is where we can come in and help. We assess all your tickets, see which are holding up your license, and see if there is any we can pull back out of collections to save you hundreds or possibly thousands from interest charges. We’re not afraid of the tedious process. We’ll get basic information from you and find a road map from you from court to court on what you need to do.
Collection agencies won’t necessarily let you know which tickets are holding up your license. It’s better for us to do the research and tell you exactly which tickets are holding up your license. That way you can focus your payments to reinstate your license. As long as the
DOL
gets notice that you’re in a repayment plan they will clear your license up so that you can pay a
reinstatement
fee to get it back. One recent example us taking care of this issue was a client that had about $8,000 in collections, but only $1,200 was holding up his license. It was great news for him to find out it was not as hard to get his license back as he thought it would be.
The other type of suspension people don’t necessarily think about it is a
Minor in Possession (M.I.P)
. If you’re under 18, get a diversion on your
M.I.P.
, or plead guilty on an
M.I.P.
you’re going to lose your license for one year. Many don’t realize that’s a consequence of an
M.I.P.
However after 90 days they are eligible to petition the court for an
early reinstatement
. We have had drivers that have had their
license suspended
for months come in thinking they have to wait out the whole year. But, we go to the courts, show them that they've been on their best behavior and it is justified for them to get an
early reinstatement
.
It’s important to know what you’re looking at when you’re a minor. As a juvenile there’s a lot of charges unrelated to driving can still cause your
license to be suspended
.
Possession of marijuana
for example is another charge that will suspend you license for a year that you can petition for
early reinstatement
.
Please give us a call at 360.734.0908 to learn how not intimidating and not complicated the process to get your license back can be.
