How to Fight a CDL Ticket in Arizona

As a commercial driver, you have greater responsibilities than an ordinary driver. You face harsher penalties for an infraction than drivers without commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) in Arizona. A ticket for an infraction such as speeding could go on your truck driving record – potentially threatening your career. It is important to fight a CDL ticket using proven strategies if you wish to protect your job and future.

Hire a CDL Traffic Lawyer

As a commercial driver, you have to more to lose in having a violation on your driving record. You will not receive the same breaks as a regular driver. Before you try to fight a CDL ticket, hire a lawyer to help you. An Arizona CDL ticket lawyer can help you understand what is at stake, as well as your options for fighting the ticket. A lawyer can represent your interests and may be able to get you a deal. If your case needs to proceed to trial, a lawyer can represent you.

Aim for Dismissal

First, your lawyer will try to fight your ticket by getting it dismissed. Dismissal is the easiest way to resolve a CDL ticket and keep your record clear. You might qualify for dismissal if the police officer that gave you the ticket does not appear at your court date. In this case, the courts may grant a motion for dismissal and your case will not continue. The courts may block the dismissal, however, and give the state more time to bring the officer to court instead. In that case, your case will proceed to court.

Prepare for Trial

Prepare your case for trial with help from your CDL lawyer. Your lawyer can subpoena information such as the original traffic ticket, as well as witnesses. The burden of proof during a CDL ticket case is with the state. It will be up to the state to prove that you were speeding or guilty of another moving violation. Your side of the case will need to combat the state’s arguments and evidence against you. You may testify for yourself during a trial, but you do not have to. Your lawyer can advise you on how to proceed during your specific case.

Fight Your CDL Ticket at Trial

Once your traffic ticket trial date arrives, you and your lawyer will appear in court to defend your side of the case. Your lawyer will have prepared all the evidence and information related to your case, as well as subpoenaed the appropriate parties. The state will present its case against you, namely in the form of testimony from the officer that issued the ticket. If the officer appears, he or she and the state must prove a few elements for the courts to uphold the ticket.

  1. You were the person driving the vehicle and speeding. The courts might side with you if your lawyer can prove the vehicle speeding might have been in front of or beside you.
  2. You were in a county where the officer had jurisdiction. The state must prove you received the ticket while in the correct county.
  3. You were speeding. The most complex element of proof will be to establish that you were actually speeding. This may take evidence related to the radar gun used.

The state will need to prove that the radar gun was working properly at the time of your speeding ticket. This may take documents such as radar calibration records. The state will also need to prove that the officer operating the radar gun had a valid certification to do so. An officer needs a special certification to operate a radar gun. Your lawyer could potentially poke holes in the state’s case by proving the officer’s certification had expired or that the radar gun was improperly calibrated in a speeding ticket case.

Contact an Arizona CDL Lawyer Today

If you recently received a ticket for speeding, following too closely, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident or committing another infraction in Maricopa County or the surrounding area as a commercial driver, contact the CDL lawyers at Corso Law Group. Your career could be at stake. Our lawyers can investigate your traffic ticket, subpoena the correct documents, and represent your interests in and out of a courtroom in Arizona. Call (480) 471-4616 today for a free initial consultation.

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