How can I get a ticket that I received not show on my driving record?
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How can I get a ticket that I received not show on my driving record?
On 8-18 I was driving late at night and got lost. I was going to turn around and bumped into a car behind me. I had no damage and I heard the lady who was driving the other car say she had a scratch which is what she told the policeman. I don’t know how they got there so fast along with an ambulance. I am 66 years old and have been driving since I was 16 with no incidents. I just don’t want anything to show on my record. I was told that if I plead guilty when I go to court on 9-19 that IF there was a judge there I could ask for this and they typically agree an monitor my driving for 30 days to insure nothing more happens but I have never been in this situation and want to make certain. Can you help or direct me.
Asked on September 9, 2016 under Accident Law, Illinois
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
If you plead guilty, whatever you plead to will show on your driving record: except and only as per the below. It is certainly possible that the offense you plead to (your question does not indicate what you were ticketed for, so we don't know what they might offer as an alternative plea) will not have any points or be otherwise "trivial," but whatever it is will show whenever an insurance company, a court, a police officer, etc. runs your abstract.
The only way a plea will not show is if the court agrees to what may be called a deferred adjudication, in which they do more-or-less as you suggest: that the court will order that if the charge against you will be dismissed if there is no subsequent infraction within a given period of time. Only dismissals, whether they are done on the spot or after a period of safe driving, do not count against you. However, the hazard for you is that you can't guarantee that this will be the outcome before you plead: you plead to a charge, then the judge decides what penalty to impose. The prosecutor can recommend a certain outcome, but can't force the judge to go along with his/her recommendation; the judge is, after all, the judge. Therefore, if you plead, you have to do so accepting of the fact that you may have whatever you plead to on your record, because you cannot force the judge to rule in such a way that it will absolutely not show on your driving record.
It is possible the prosecutor will dismiss the charges--that he can do without court approval--if you have a clean record, this ticket was minor, there was little or no harm, and you are appropriately contrite. You should ask for this, though it's the prosecutor's decision ultimately whether or not to dismiss (there's no way to make the prosecutor dismiss). If he does, there will be nothing to show on your record. But if the prosecutor does not dismiss, then focus on getting the opportunity to plea to some minor, no points offense. That is a more certain way to minimize the negative impact to you.
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