This is a very common question we receive quite often. Before we dive in, we would like to address what court supervision is so we are on the same page:
Court supervision is an alternative to conviction that allows drivers to avoid an offense being recorded to their public record. In exchange for not receiving any tickets for a predetermined period of months, payment of fines, and other agreed upon obligations like traffic school, the case is closed without a conviction. This prevents damage to one’s license and visibility of the offense on public records (the kind insurance companies and employers may access). Contrary to popular belief, it does however remain on non-public portions of your driving record. Visibility to this so called court purposes record is limited to the driver themselves, courts, police, prosecutors, attorneys, and the Secretary of State. In this way, insurance companies and employers cannot view them.
First, we have to answer whether you are eligible for court supervision. Most tickets are supervision eligible but there are some exceptions such as speeding in a school zone. Before you attempt a request at court supervision, it is worth speaking to an attorney to see if your ticket is among these. If your offense is eligible, you need to see if you are eligible for supervision. A driver is eligible if they have not received court supervision twice in the last 12 months. How this rule is applied varies depending on the prosecutor and the county but in general, this is the rule as it is used in most courts. If you meet these requirements, you are supervision eligible.
Second, you must see if a court appearance is required to receive court supervision. Although one is eligible for supervision twice in a 12 month period, prosecutors generally have an unofficial rule to deny supervision requests if a driver had a ticket within 12 months UNLESS that driver appears in court. While this does carry the likelihood of court costs, it is far more likely to increase chances of court supervision whether or not you have had a ticket in the past 12 months.
Third, were you on supervision when you received your most recent ticket. If so, your supervision from the previous county could be at risk. In addition, your second ticket will be less likely to be granted court supervision. In spite of this, you would be still eligible for court supervision though it is less likely to be offered. It is important that you do not lie about the other ticket as prosecutors can access supervision records.
Finally, after reviewing all of these, the court will make a determination of whether supervision will be available if you can be legally offered it. To have a more complete picture of whether supervision is likely in a case, call (630) 445-2293 for a FREE consultation.
