my speeding ticket

First, I was cited for going 98 mph in a 55 mph zone (on I-20 eastbound, in south Dekalb County, GA.), so it was a really bad ticket. Any time you're going more than 30 mph over the posted limit, the officer also has the option of taking you straight to jail. I started to smart off to the officer (who really was very nice given the circumstances) and he pointed out that he had the "take me to jail" option, at which point I told him I was just going to shut up. Did I mention that I lost much more time getting stopped and being given a ticket than I would've spent simply traveling at a more reasonable speed?

So I spoke with one of my colleagues in ATS who'd gotten a similar ticket in Cobb County, GA., and he gave me the name of an attorney in Dekalb County whose specialty is serious speeding violations (like mine), DUI defense, and other traffic citations. He is Troy Hendrick, who can be reached at 404-373-8000 and has a very good website with downloadable .pdf files about what to watch out for when driving in GA., how to handle a traffic stop, etc., at www.TroyHendrick.com.

So I called the atty.'s office and was assigned to one of their lawyers, a Mr. Michael Maloof (I wouldn't be surprised if he's related to the Manual's Tavern Maloof family, but didn't ask). Their fee: $500.00. At his request I faxed a copy of the ticket to them and later spoke with him on the phone. He said that since my last name starts with "S", there was a very good chance that I would be assigned to one of two female judges, and not the male judge (who doesn't care as much about penalizing speeders). This particular female Dekalb County judge has been known to give people jail time for bad speeding tickets like mine! That could've cost me my job, depending on how much jail time I was given, not to mention the fact that I'm not muscular enough to go to prison! 8-]

So, the atty. got me re-assigned to the male judge, then the atty. met with the judge (I didn't have to appear before him), after the atty. faxed me the documents I needed to sign, which included the Plea In Abstentia, which allowed the atty. to represent me without my having to be present. The atty. got my ticket reduced from 43 mph over the limit to 25 mph over the limit, which reduced the points against my license as well (so my insurance hopefully won't go through the roof also). The judge's verdict: a fine of $435.00 and and a sentence of 20 hours of community service.

Since I am good at writing, English, shooting my big mouth off, etc., I signed up with Hands On Atlanta to teach English to legal immigrants in Central Fulton County, GA. I'm going for my one-hour orientation this evening and will teach English in 8 two-and-one-half hour installments on Sat. mornings until I have done my 20 hours of (not so hard) time.

Just roughly figuring how much the atty. fee and fine cost me for speeding, I paid ~$20.00/per mph I was going over the speed limit. And that's not counting the cost in my own personal time for the community service. Obviously it wasn't worth it, I was just not paying attention and my car is very easy to drive very fast (it's a 2007 Mazda RX-8 with a 240 hp rotary engine and six-speed automatic with manual shift option and paddle shifters on the steering wheel, very light and maneuverable, 300 watt sound system, etc., etc.) and I wasn't even in a hurry to get where I was going.

If this helps to slow down anyone, then maybe what I'm going through will at least serve as a warning to others. Oh yea, did I mention that the "Super Speeder" fines go into effect in GA. starting in July? Those are additional fines levied by the GA. DMV for super speeders like I used to be. 8-]