Most people get a traffic ticket and just pay the fine, not realizing they’re pleading guilty to a moving violation that can haunt them for years. Points on your license, spiking insurance premiums, and the risk of suspension are all consequences that far outweigh the original fine. At Niesen, McDonough & Niesen LLC, our St. Louis traffic ticket lawyers fight speeding tickets, moving violations, and serious traffic charges so you can keep your record clean, your insurance affordable, and your license active.
We represent drivers ticketed across the St. Louis metro from speed traps along I-64, I-70, and I-270 to citations in the dozens of municipal courts scattered throughout St. Louis County. If you were pulled over in Clayton, cited in Brentwood, caught by radar in Ladue, or ticketed anywhere from the Central West End to Chesterfield, our traffic ticket attorney team knows the local courts, the prosecutors, and the strategies that get results in each jurisdiction.
Not every traffic charge carries the same weight, but every one of them can add points to your record and cost you money long after the fine is paid. Our St. Louis traffic ticket lawyers handle the full range of traffic offenses, from routine citations to charges that carry criminal penalties.
We defend clients against:
Every ticket has a story behind it. Maybe the speed limit sign was obscured, the radar reading was questionable, or you were cited in an unfamiliar municipality with a reputation for aggressive ticketing. Our traffic violation lawyer team digs into the details and builds a defense tailored to your situation.
The fine printed on your traffic ticket is just the beginning. When you pay a ticket without contesting it, you’re admitting guilt to a moving violation, and that triggers a chain of consequences most drivers don’t anticipate.
Here’s what’s actually at stake:
Hiring a traffic ticket lawyer typically costs less than the long-term financial damage of a single conviction on your record. Our clients regularly save thousands of dollars in avoided insurance increases alone.
Our traffic ticket attorney team doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. The strategy that works in Clayton Municipal Court may be completely different from what succeeds in Florissant or before the St. Louis County Circuit Court. We tailor our defense to your specific citation, your driving history, and the court where your case is pending.
Every case starts with a careful review of the citation itself: incorrect dates, wrong vehicle descriptions, and missing information can provide grounds for dismissal before we even get to the substance of the charge. From there, we challenge the evidence, including the calibration and operation of radar guns, laser devices, and pacing techniques used to measure your speed. We also examine the traffic stop to determine whether the officer had reasonable suspicion to pull you over, because procedural missteps can invalidate the entire citation.
When the evidence doesn’t support an outright dismissal, our traffic ticket lawyers negotiate directly with prosecutors to get moving violations amended to non-moving violations that carry no points on your record. For most traffic cases, we handle the court appearance on your behalf so you don’t have to take time off work or sit in a crowded municipal courtroom. If you have an outstanding warrant from a missed court date, we can often get it recalled without you having to turn yourself in.
Navigating St. Louis County’s patchwork of municipal courts is confusing for most drivers. We practice in these courts regularly and understand how each one operates, which gives our clients a real advantage.
Missouri tracks traffic violations using a point system managed by the Department of Revenue. Every conviction for a moving violation adds points to your driving record, and those points accumulate toward increasingly serious consequences.
Here’s how the Missouri point system works:
This is exactly why fighting a traffic ticket matters; even a minor speeding conviction adds points that bring you closer to suspension. Our traffic ticket lawyer team focuses on reducing or eliminating points wherever possible, whether through negotiated amendments, dismissals, or trials.
The Law Offices of Frank J. Niesen was a very helpful asset to my case. The lawyer Mike McDonough specifically was very helpful. His communication skills were superb, he always responded in a timely manner and answered all my questions with professional/helpful advice. Overall the service exceeded my expectations, I would definitely recommend them to others.
St. Louis County is home to dozens of municipalities, each with its own municipal court, its own prosecutors, and its own approach to handling traffic cases. Add in St. Louis City courts, county circuit courts, and the various jurisdictions in neighboring counties, and the system is a maze for anyone who doesn’t practice in it regularly.
Our traffic ticket lawyers appear in courts across the region, including Clayton, University City, Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Richmond Heights, Florissant, Hazelwood, Ballwin, Chesterfield, Creve Coeur, Maryland Heights, Brentwood, Ladue, Maplewood, Olivette, and municipalities throughout St. Louis County. We also handle traffic cases in St. Charles County, Jefferson County, and the surrounding areas. Out-of-state drivers who received a citation while passing through the St. Louis metro can also count on us to handle the case without requiring a return trip to Missouri.
A traffic ticket doesn’t have to become a lasting problem. Whether you’re dealing with a straightforward speeding ticket or a more serious charge that threatens your license, our St. Louis traffic ticket lawyers will review your case, explain what’s realistic, and fight for the best possible outcome, whether that means a dismissal, a reduction to a non-moving violation with zero points, or another resolution that protects your record.
We keep our fees reasonable because we want traffic cases to be accessible to everyone, and we’re straightforward about costs from the very first call. Many of our traffic clients come back to us when they need help with other legal matters down the road, and that kind of trust starts with doing good work on the case in front of us right now.
Don’t pay that ticket and hope for the best. Call us today for a consultation.
In most cases, yes, and it’s not even close when you compare the costs. A traffic ticket lawyer’s fee is typically a fraction of what you’ll pay in increased insurance premiums over three to five years after a moving violation conviction. Beyond the financial math, a lawyer can often get your speeding ticket amended to a non-moving violation that adds zero points to your record. That means no insurance increase, no points toward a suspension, and no moving violation on your driving history. Our traffic ticket attorneys can evaluate your specific ticket during a free consultation and tell you exactly what options are available.
Yes, and this is one of the most common outcomes we achieve for our clients. Missouri courts regularly allow speeding tickets and other moving violations to be amended to non-moving violations, such as a defective equipment charge, through negotiation with the prosecutor. A non-moving violation typically carries a fine but no points on your driving record, and generally does not trigger insurance rate increases. The likelihood of this outcome depends on your speed, your driving history, and the specific court, which is why having a traffic lawyer who knows the local courts makes a meaningful difference.
For most routine traffic violations, no. Your traffic ticket attorney can appear in court on your behalf, handle the negotiation with the prosecutor, and resolve the case without you ever setting foot in a courtroom. This is one of the biggest practical benefits of hiring a traffic lawyer: you avoid taking time off work and dealing with the hassle of navigating an unfamiliar municipal court. We’ll only ask you to appear personally if the court specifically requires it, which is rare for standard traffic citations.
Outstanding warrants from missed traffic court dates are more common than people think, and they can lead to arrest if you’re pulled over for any reason. The good news is that our traffic ticket lawyers can typically get the warrant recalled by filing a motion and appearing on your behalf, often without you needing to turn yourself in. Once the warrant is resolved, we work to address the underlying ticket and minimize the consequences. If you suspect you might have an outstanding warrant, it’s better to deal with it proactively than to wait for a traffic stop to force the issue.
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