What is a reckless driving ticket?

Reckless driving is one of the more serious types of traffic charges an individual can face when driving in South Florida. Pursuant to Florida Statute §316.192, reckless driving is a criminal traffic offense, which can carry much steeper penalties than your typical civil traffic infraction. By the letter of the law, you could go to jail or have a criminal record as a result of a reckless driving conviction. While this generally never occurs (especially for first time offenders), you should know that if you are charged with reckless driving and do get arrested, you can be taken to jail and may be required to post a bond. Alternatively, the police officer has the ability to have you sign a notice to appear instead of immediately taking you into custody. If you receive a reckless driving charge, it means that the arresting police officer believes you have been driving a vehicle with “willful and wanton for the safety or persons or property….” (Florida Statute §316.192) In the context of Florida’s reckless driving statute, “willful” means intentional, knowing, and purposeful, and “wanton” means with a conscious and intentional indifference to consequences and with knowledge that damage is likely to be done to persons or property. Continue reading “How to Beat a Reckless Driving Ticket in Miami or Fort Lauderdale” »

As discussed in this video, if you’ve been arrested for retail theft, which is commonly referred to as shoplifting, or any kind of theft offense in South Florida, it is imperative that you hire a lawyer. Pursuant to Florida Statute §812.015(1)(d), retail theft means “…the taking possession of or carrying away of merchandise, property, money, or negotiable documents; altering or removing a label, universal product code, or price tag; transferring merchandise from one container to another; or removing a shopping cart, with intent to deprive the merchant of possession, use, benefit, or full retail value.” Many people view shoplifting as a crime that is not that serious. To the contrary, shoplifting in Florida is looked at by the court of law very seriously. A shoplifting conviction can follow you around for the rest of your life and can affect your employment opportunities, standing in the community, and your ability to get credit. Under Florida Statute §812.014, retail theft can be classified as either petit theft or grand theft depending on the value of the alleged stolen merchandise. Continue reading “Shoplifting Defense – South Florida Theft Lawyer” »

While people frequently use the terms “reckless driving” and “careless driving” interchangeably, there is actually a huge difference between these two offenses in Florida.

Careless driving is governed by Florida Statute §316.1925 which states that, “Any person operating a vehicle upon the streets or highways within the state shall drive the same in a careful and prudent manner, having regard for the width, grade, curves, corners, traffic, and all other attendant circumstances, so as not to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person. Failure to drive in such manner shall constitute careless driving and a violation of this section.” Careless driving is a moving violation, punishable by steep fines and the assessment of points on your driver’s license, which can lead to increased insurance rates and the suspension of your driver’s license. Careless driving citations are commonly referred to as the catch-all citation since they are often issued when the police officer can’t find any other specific traffic law violation that seems to fit the charge. In Florida, police officers commonly give a careless driving citation to the driver they believe to be at fault in a car accident. Careless driving citations are particularly common in rear-end accidents where the police officer did not witness the accident and the person who was rear-ended didn’t see what happened or know why the accident happened. Continue reading “Careless Driving vs. Reckless Driving in Florida: What’s the Difference?” »

If you have received a careless driving ticket in Broward or Miami-Dade County, you probably got the ticket due to being involved in an automobile accident where the officer investigating the accident found you to be at fault or the cause of the crash. A careless driving charge in Florida carries a four point penalty against your license. If you pay the ticket outright, these points will be assessed on your license, which will cause your car insurance rates to increase. While paying the ticket may seem like the easiest and most efficient way to resolve the citation, it’s not. Do not pay the ticket outright under any circumstances as careless driving tickets almost always get dismissed in court. To attempt to get your ticket dismissed or to have the best chance at keeping points off your license, the best thing to do is go to court or retain a Miami ticket defense attorney Fort Lauderdale ticket defense attorney or a Miami ticket defense attorney to go to court for you. Continue reading “Careless Driving Ticket in Fort Lauderdale or Miami” »

Q: “Will points on my driver’s license affect my car insurance?”

A:  “Yes—so I hope you’ve got a rainy day fund stashed away because your car insurance rates are definitely going to increase.”

You see, insurance companies evaluate risk of future loss by looking at people’s driving records. The more tickets, convictions, and points on your record, the more of a risk the insurance company believes you are and the more they’ll charge you. According to a new analysis of December 2012 car insurance rates, Insure.com found that the average annual car insurance premium for a driver with a clean driving record in Florida was $1,364 a year.[i] Considering that the average Floridian made $40,344 last year, that’s a whopping 3.38% of annual income spent on just car insurance payments![ii] And that’s for a clean driving record! The last thing you want is to have to shell out even more of your hard earned money to your car insurance provider because you got points on your license. Fortunately, if you receive a traffic ticket, you can typically avoid the assessment of points on your license and the associated costly insurance rate increases. Continue reading “How will points on your license affect insurance?” »

Has your driver’s license been suspended? If so, then you absolutely cannot drive until your driving privilege has been reinstated. While not being able to drive may be a huge inconvenience, trust me when I say that it’s not worth the risk of getting caught. If you’re caught driving with a suspended license in Florida, then depending on the circumstances, you could be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony and face jail time, significant fines, and an extension of your driver’s license suspension period or possibly even a revocation of your license. Continue reading “Suspended Driver’s License in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale: What do you do?” »

Yale Galanter represents the Compassionate Care Center of America Foundation Inc. who recently had their plans for a medical marijuana center in Woodbridge, New Jersey approved. Below is an excerpt from an article and a link to the original source.
Continue reading “New Jersey’s Third Medical Marijuana Center Set to Open Soon” »

If you have gotten a traffic ticket in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, or anywhere in South Florida, you need to contact a Miami traffic ticket attorney or Fort Lauderdale traffic ticket attorney as soon as you can after receiving the ticket. The key to defending the ticket is to avoid getting points on your driving record. If you get too many points on your license within a certain period of time, your license will be suspended.

Continue reading “Driver’s License Points: How to Avoid Them!” »

Hire an experienced Traffic Ticket Lawyer in Fort Lauderdale and Miami

Everyone wants to know: “Should I hire a lawyer when I get a speeding ticket?” The answer to this question is a resounding “Yes!” If you’ve gotten a speeding ticket in South Florida, you’re not alone. Speeding tickets are given out all the time here, especially since many municipalities use giving out tickets as a way to raise revenue and can also require their police officers to write a certain number of tickets each month. If you get a speeding ticket and you don’t handle it properly, you can get points on your license, have to attend traffic school, and pay fines. Today, there are many firms like the South Florida law firm of Galanter Law that will handle your ticket and allow you to avoid all or most of the consequences of not handling a speeding ticket properly. Continue reading “Your Traffic Ticket Lawyer for Fort Lauderdale and Miami” »

Have you been arrested for DUI in South Florida? If so, you’ll need an experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer like Yale L. Galanter and his team of Miami and Fort Lauderdale DUI defense attorneys to protect your rights and aggressively defend your case. Time is of the essence when it comes to obtaining legal representation for your DUI charge, so it’s critical that you contact us immediately after you are arrested.

Continue reading “Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer” »