Legal Question in Traffic Law in Florida

I was cited by a police officer for not having my lights on(316.217(1)(A) - VEHICLE WITHOUT LIGHTS AT NIGHT), but the thing is that I did have them on. An electrical problem with my car that was verified by a mechanic kept causing my lights to go off. This problem occurred occasionally and therefore was not noticeable. I became aware of the problem, however, when it started affecting the other electrical devices in my car. Not knowing what to do, I gave my ticket to a traffic office that has a lawyer who handles tickets like these. He was the one to represent me in court. Later, I looked up my ticket in the county's website and after the pretrial I was assessed a penalty in terms of a fine. The lawyer entered my plea as NOLO CONTENDERE and the court's disposition was WITHHOLD ADJDCTN. I really don't want to pay that fine, which the office says are court fees. I did have my lights on as I stated at the beginning, but an electrical problem verified by a mechanic, which I was not aware of until it became widespread, caused my lights to suddenly turn off. I am a safe driver who has a clean driving record. I would like to know what other legal options, if any, do I have to go about this problem. Thank you.


Asked on 1/06/10, 10:02 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Craig Epifanio Craig Epifanio, P.A.

This is something you need to take up with your attorney. If you didn't want to pay a fine, then you needed to go to court and have a trial where you would testify about what happened. Trial should have been discussed when you hired the attorney. Only your attorney can answer your question, not this forum.

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Answered on 1/11/10, 7:18 pm


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