Pre Paid Legal Service

Just my opinion. I see the pre-paid legal services all the time in court. There's one lady I deal with on a weekly basis that is very decent. She knows the regulations, inside and out. It helps that she is married to a retired Trooper that was in our unit that has since retired and came back as a civilian. He keeps her up to date on all the rule changes and new regs. On the other hand I see about 4 to 5 others who have no clue. They act like they know the rules and regulations and walk around like pompous a_ _ es, which is funny to see. When they get into court and want a trial because they think they have an angle, only to get their little bubble busted. Look it's pretty simple, in my State, you have three options on a citation. Pay the thing. Have a guilty with explanation hearing, which you have to personally appear or have a lawyer appear for you. This is where the judge hears your side of the story, without the officer present. Usually results in a reduced fine/points. The final option is a trial. You have to appear or have an attorney appear for this as well. You can plead guilty, not guilty or guilty with an explanation. My experience is this, if you have pre-paid legal they can give any of the pleas for you. However, if they have a trial for a not guilty plea the only testimony is coming from the officer. The pre-paid attorney wasn't there on the stop and can only argue on merit.

Like I said earlier, there's one attorney I can work with, she's knows the reg's, inside and out, and doesnn't have the pompous attitudes that most of the blood suckers have. The other ones I see, I guess couldn't make it as ambulance chasers. Like many have posted here, it is probably cheaper in the long run to set aside money for this cost and use it when you need it. Paying $35.00 a month for a shotty lawyer seems like a lot of money for the dumb a_ _ lawyers I see. Maybe other State's are different with better attorney's, but I imiagine they are all the same.

 

You are absolutely right. But, the options you mention: Plead Guilty or Plead Guilty with an Explanation are going to get the same result: POINTS.
An 'explanation' is a synonym for an 'excuse' in a traffic court. You can also plead 'Not Guilty and Request Trial By Written Declaration' But that's going to get the same as the previous options. Let me say, I am a big fan of pre-paid legal services, but have experience with only one (TVC) with whom I have excellent results. If they were 'good' lawyers, they wouldn't be wasting their time on this type of work. I certainly wouldn't want them representing me at trial. Here's what they do. Their power comes from the fact that they appear on behalf of a large number of drivers when they step to the podium. They then enter a plea of Not Guilty and request Trial by Jury for every driver. So, let's say on any given day he appears for 25 drivers. 25 trials by jury require 300 seated jurors, but for the purpose of jury selection, Voir Dire, a pool of some 900 people. But, he is more than willing to plea bargain to spare the cash-strapped court system the cost of all these trials. So, he gives them a guilty plea in exchange for a reduced fine and NO POINTS. The DA gets a conviction and everybody is happy. Works for me!!!

 

Not all citations carry points. I understand each State is different and I can only speak of my State. All of the Motor Carrier Regulations, in my State have been adopted as State Law. That being said, there is no points put on driving records for CFR Title 49 regs. Now speeding, DUI, reckless, unsafe passing, following to close etc, any moving violations DO carry points. To be sure which violations carry points, you would need to contact your State's DMV. I understand some State's give points for Out of State citations. In my opinion, there should be one standard rule regarding this. So if your from Florida and get a ticket in California the same thing happens to your driving record that would happen to someone from New York who recieved a citation in Virginia. I know that would make sense, so the DMV's would never do that.

 

DieselBear:

I understand what you're saying, and agree. I probably should have emphasized that I am from California where a very large proportion of citations carry point, some of which I have been cited for in other states and received a small fine and no MVR entry.

On another note, wanted to thank you for taking the time to post and give drivers the opportunity to hear from a member/representative of those with whom the opportunity to make their acquaintance is generally preceded by the sight of their reflected image in our side-view mirrors.

 

Most likely a waste of money.

The CSA problems will be nothing that they can help with.

 

Ok, first of all, TVC "recruiters" at truckstops are getting super super super annoying as hell. I tell em i already have it, used to be enough. Now they want to friggin call in and see if your paid up, etc, etc. They expect me to prove it.

I've gotten into a habit of walking in the 4 wheeler door. F those guys. I won't even admit i'm a trucker to them anymore.


But beyond that, think about it this way: The ones i know of are around $50 a month. Thats over $500 a year. They also charge you more if you get a ticket and need their services within the first month or two you're with them. You're better off just saving that money in a savings account, and paying for your own lawyer.

TVC says they have a network of lawyers in all 50 states and all provinces in Canada. They have...a lot of phonebooks.

 

Pre-paid legal is a rip off!! They started taking money out of my acct. With no athorization!! Tried to contact their headquaters in ada,ok for refund..no help!!! Had to report fraud to my bank to stop transactions from pre-paid leagal...drivers beware of this pyramid scam!!!! I know all of us bust our ##### on the road just dont want to see any drivers loosing money over this scam!!!!

Just want to say thank to all you hard working truckers, rollin hard to support their families!!! God bless

 

I know, I just wanted to vent about TVC. I almost went with them until i realized how annoying they are.

But seriously, a savings account would be a better way to spend the money. Once you go a few ticket free years you could even stop saving until you get one.