Dilemma - my 16-year old

Unit 5302 · 05-22-2002, 06:27 PM

Wow, good deal that your state is leaniant on Reckless. Here in Minnesota reckless is considered a gross misdemeaor, equal in respect to punishment compared to fleeing a police officer until a couple years ago when fleeing became a felony. A reckless charge for a minor here results in revocation until the age of 18, same as being pulled over under the influence of any alcohol or drugs if I'm correct.

Insurance companies treat reckless and careless the same as far as points ratings in many cases, so keep an eye out on the insurance bill.

His first court date will not be a trial, it will be an arraignment. The arraignment officer or prosecutor has some capability to plea bargain. I suggest your son make the most of it. If the prosecutor throws a deal his way, take it. Like I said before, there is no reason to go to trial on this one, cause the ticket is gonna stick. Best case scenerio is the prosecutor is in a good mood and plea bargains it down to unreasonable accleration (unlikely), or careless driving (more likely). Go for a trial date if he doesn't give you anything. Meet with him before the trial and try to get him to knock it down again at the next court date. If he doesn't do it, just take it in the rear and save yourself a few hours of waiting. Might be worth it to stick around the courtroom though. You can get a feel for what works, what doesn't, and how hard nosed the judicial system is. Gets the idea of tickets magically disappearing out of kids heads.

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05-22-2002, 06:27 PM	#1
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	Wow, good deal that your state is leaniant on Reckless. Here in Minnesota reckless is considered a gross misdemeaor, equal in respect to punishment compared to fleeing a police officer until a couple years ago when fleeing became a felony. A reckless charge for a minor here results in revocation until the age of 18, same as being pulled over under the influence of any alcohol or drugs if I'm correct. Insurance companies treat reckless and careless the same as far as points ratings in many cases, so keep an eye out on the insurance bill. His first court date will not be a trial, it will be an arraignment. The arraignment officer or prosecutor has some capability to plea bargain. I suggest your son make the most of it. If the prosecutor throws a deal his way, take it. Like I said before, there is no reason to go to trial on this one, cause the ticket is gonna stick. Best case scenerio is the prosecutor is in a good mood and plea bargains it down to unreasonable accleration (unlikely), or careless driving (more likely). Go for a trial date if he doesn't give you anything. Meet with him before the trial and try to get him to knock it down again at the next court date. If he doesn't do it, just take it in the rear and save yourself a few hours of waiting. Might be worth it to stick around the courtroom though. You can get a feel for what works, what doesn't, and how hard nosed the judicial system is. Gets the idea of tickets magically disappearing out of kids heads.