I'm contacted by a lot of clients who are charged with Reckless Driving in Michigan. This charge has some major penalties, the main four being a criminal record, jail, 6 points on your license and suspension of your ability to drive. Reckless driving has many of the same penalties as a DUI in Michigan, and some sanctions are even more severe. The main goal for a client charged with Reckless Driving is a dismissal or reduction of this charge.
Prosecutors do NOT take this charge lightly. This charge is what I call the "asshole charge". Prosecutors put on their prosecutor glasses and imagine you weaving in and out of the lanes at a high rate of speed and putting innocent people at risk. While some cases involve less than ideal driving, may Reckless Driving cases are indeed overcharges. A cop tickets my client for Reckless Driving when the actual charge should probably be speeding, careless or another civil infraction.
If I were able to advise my client at the scene of the incident, I would strongly advise them to be civil with the officer, show the proper respect for their authority and keep their opinions to themselves. Many of these cases would likely be less serious charges if my client simply took the ticket, smiled and drove away. Cops are overworked, underpaid and not going to react well to a driver giving them a hard time or arguing with them.
Fortunately time heals (usually). When I take on a Reckless Driving case in Michigan, we need to explore the basis of the offense. Are there listed witnesses other than the police officer? What does my client's record look like? Was my client cooperative with the police or a jerk?
I can't rely on a prosecutor throwing us a deal or a cop coming to court ready to approve this reduction, because Reckless Driving tickets are usually written with subjective purpose. My client either did something pretty egregious to earn this serious charge or did something less than egregious but their interaction was less than ideal with the police officer. Under either scenario, the waters to cut a deal will not be ideal.
This is why all of my clients go on a proactive plan from day one. It's our job to show the other side of the client - the story not told on the ticket and more importantly during the interaction with the police officer. We always need to acknowledge that we can be better drivers, more aware of our surroundings and to show we are a positive person in the community, not a dangerous jerk on the road. My clients made take a driver improvement course, do some community service, attending counseling.
Many other lawyers would look at this approach as "unnecessary" - well those lawyers are going to have pissed off clients when the prosecutor says "no deal" - a cop and prosecutor are not going to cut a deal on a Reckless Driving case if the only thing they know about the client stems from this one incident. This type of approach has opened up many doors for my clients, because it shows they "give a shit" and they are humbled by the experience.
We turn a negative situation into a positive learning experience and show who the client actually is - sure, that day on the road, maybe my client acted like a jerk, and in the end we are glad we were pulled over because something worse may have happened. Having time to reflect on the incident, we are prepared to go forward with many lessons learned. There is too much at risk when driving a vehicle on the roads of Michigan - too much can go wrong, especially if you're not driving in a safe manner.
Should you lose your ability to drive? Be labeled a criminal the rest of your life, go to jail? Maybe, or maybe not. The client controls the outcome of the case, but mere words mean nothing, it's all about actions and making a TRUE impression vs an isolated moment in time listed on the ticket.
Prosecutors do NOT take this charge lightly. This charge is what I call the "asshole charge". Prosecutors put on their prosecutor glasses and imagine you weaving in and out of the lanes at a high rate of speed and putting innocent people at risk. While some cases involve less than ideal driving, may Reckless Driving cases are indeed overcharges. A cop tickets my client for Reckless Driving when the actual charge should probably be speeding, careless or another civil infraction.
If I were able to advise my client at the scene of the incident, I would strongly advise them to be civil with the officer, show the proper respect for their authority and keep their opinions to themselves. Many of these cases would likely be less serious charges if my client simply took the ticket, smiled and drove away. Cops are overworked, underpaid and not going to react well to a driver giving them a hard time or arguing with them.
Fortunately time heals (usually). When I take on a Reckless Driving case in Michigan, we need to explore the basis of the offense. Are there listed witnesses other than the police officer? What does my client's record look like? Was my client cooperative with the police or a jerk?
I can't rely on a prosecutor throwing us a deal or a cop coming to court ready to approve this reduction, because Reckless Driving tickets are usually written with subjective purpose. My client either did something pretty egregious to earn this serious charge or did something less than egregious but their interaction was less than ideal with the police officer. Under either scenario, the waters to cut a deal will not be ideal.
This is why all of my clients go on a proactive plan from day one. It's our job to show the other side of the client - the story not told on the ticket and more importantly during the interaction with the police officer. We always need to acknowledge that we can be better drivers, more aware of our surroundings and to show we are a positive person in the community, not a dangerous jerk on the road. My clients made take a driver improvement course, do some community service, attending counseling.
Many other lawyers would look at this approach as "unnecessary" - well those lawyers are going to have pissed off clients when the prosecutor says "no deal" - a cop and prosecutor are not going to cut a deal on a Reckless Driving case if the only thing they know about the client stems from this one incident. This type of approach has opened up many doors for my clients, because it shows they "give a shit" and they are humbled by the experience.
We turn a negative situation into a positive learning experience and show who the client actually is - sure, that day on the road, maybe my client acted like a jerk, and in the end we are glad we were pulled over because something worse may have happened. Having time to reflect on the incident, we are prepared to go forward with many lessons learned. There is too much at risk when driving a vehicle on the roads of Michigan - too much can go wrong, especially if you're not driving in a safe manner.
Should you lose your ability to drive? Be labeled a criminal the rest of your life, go to jail? Maybe, or maybe not. The client controls the outcome of the case, but mere words mean nothing, it's all about actions and making a TRUE impression vs an isolated moment in time listed on the ticket.
