Holmes County is located on the Florida/Alabama Border and in the Florida panhandle. It has approximately 19,000 residents and people that cross the border on a regular basis. The county seat is Bonifay, Florida. Other towns and cities include Esto, Noma, Ponce de Leon and Westville. The county has Southern charm and Florida ambiance.
Law Enforcement agencies like Esto Police Department, Noma Police Department, Ponce de Leon Police Department, Westville Police Department, Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, and Florida Highway Patrol monitor the local roadways. The agencies write citations of two types: civil and criminal. Criminal citations require a hearing. You, your Holmes County Traffic attorney, any witnesses, the citation issuing or arresting officer, and the judge or magistrate presiding over your case may be present. If you do not attend the date that is written on your notice of appearance, you may have a bench warrant issued for your arrest. It is imperative that you attend the hearing date that you are assigned. The judge will then decide what your sentence is—any combination of possible jail time, probation, community service, treatment programs, points on your license, fines and/fees, among other penalties and treatments.
Civil citations have three options that you may choose from in order to deal with your citation. The first is to pay the fine or fee associated with your citation and accept the points on your license. The second is to elect to take a Driver Improvement Course. This course is usually four (4) hours in length and is available online, in person in a classroom setting or on DVD/video. You must alert the clerk of the court at the following address in writing within thirty (30) days of your citation that you intend to take the Driver Improvement Course: 201 North Oklahoma Street, Bonifay, Florida. Once you have done so, you will need to complete the course within ninety (90) days of the citation. You must complete the course and submit your Certificate of Completion to the Clerk of the Court to ensure that you do not have any further fines/fees assessed against you and/or your license is not suspended. There are certain limitations on how many times you may take the course, thereby qualifying for no points placed on your record. You may not take the course more than once in a twelve month period. You may not take the course more than five (5) times in your lifetime. If you have taken the course more than the allotted amount of time, you will have to either accept the points on your license or contest the ticket yourself. Should you contest the citation, you will also need to notify the Clerk of the Court within thirty (30) days of the citation. They will assign you a hearing date. At the hearing, you, your Holmes County Speeding Ticket attorney, any witnesses, the citation issuing officer, and any judge or magistrate presiding over your case will need to be in attendance. The court will then determine your guilt or innocence. If you are found guilty, you may be required to pay court costs and fees for bringing the citation to the court’s attention rather than paying the fine or fee or electing driver improvement school.
Points on your license can result in two unintended results. The first is that you may be required to carry a higher costing type of insurance policy. If your insurance company sees that you have accrued a higher numbers of points they may determine that you are a “high risk” driver. This determination is in their sole discretion. The insurance premiums for SR-22, the high risk policy, can be up to four (4) times as much as safe driver premiums. Furthermore, you may have your license suspended. If you accrue twelve (12) points in one year, your license may be suspended for one month. If you get eighteen (18) points in a year and a half, your license may be suspended for three months. If you accrue twenty-four (24) points in three years, your license may be suspended for a whole year. Any additional accruing of points can result in an additional three months suspension added to your already existing suspension.
All points can result in two unwanted repercussions. The following schedule gives you an idea of what the points allocations are:
| POINTS | VIOLATIONS |
|---|---|
| 3 | Littering, Child retraint violations, speeding 15 miles per hour less over the speed limit |
| 4 | Passing a stopped school bus, speeding 16 miles per hour or more over the speed limit |
| 6 | Leaving the scene of an accident (<$50 damage) or a crash resulting from unlawful speed |
A Holmes County Speeding Ticket lawyer can assist you in being informed about your rights, the process, and the substance of the law surrounding the citation. A Bonify Traffic lawyer will help you get the education you may require for combatting your citation. He or she may fight your citation in court and request that points be kept off of your license. They can speak for you in court and represent your best interest to the court. Contact your local Holmes County Traffic lawyer today to ensure your deadlines are met and the process is completed in time.
