Criminal Law Basics: An Introduction To Drug Charge Defense

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Sealing A Traffic Ticket

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Many drivers are issued citations for violating traffic laws. If you have been issued a ticket, it can be helpful to know that some courts publish scanned copies of these tickets online. Since a traffic tickets contains personal information (like your name, address, driver's license number, and even a copy of your signature), having your ticket published could be less-than-desirable. You can petition the court to seal your traffic ticket in order to prevent the public from gaining access to the information it contains.

Here are three arguments you can use to help petition the court to seal your traffic ticket in the future.

1. Your traffic ticket contains confidential information.

Although most courts do not consider the information provided on a traffic ticket to be confidential, there may be times where the issuing officer makes a mistake and includes a piece of confidential information on your ticket.

If your social security number is listed on your driver's license, the issuing officer could inadvertently write this number on the ticket. Publishing the ticket would give criminals access to all the information needed to steal your identity. You can petition the court to seal your ticket in order to keep confidential information printed on the ticket from being exposed.

2. The information on your ticket could put you at risk.

There are certain instances where the information contained on a traffic ticket could put you at risk. If you are a public figure or someone going through public legal troubles, providing the public with your home address could put you at personal risk of being harmed.

If you have had your identity stolen in the past, the publication of your personal information could increase your risk of having new accounts opened in your name. If you can show a judge that publishing the personal information on a traffic ticket will put you at risk, you can most likely have your ticket sealed in the future.

3. The court has the ability to seal the ticket.

Most jurisdictions leave it up to the discretion of the court when it comes to sealing traffic tickets. You could rely on this authority when attempting to seal your own traffic ticket from public view by appealing to the court's power to act.

Petitioning a judge to exercise his or her authority could be a successful tactic when it comes to sealing traffic tickets in the future.

Being able to present a compelling argument will help you get your traffic tickets sealed so that the information they contain doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Contact a St Lucie Criminal Defense Attorney for more help.


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