Khloe Kardashian was issued a speeding ticket in 2003 which she failed to pay.  In turn, a warrant for her arrest was issued.   Yesterday, February 2nd, she appeared in Court with her attorney to have the warrant pulled and paid a fine.

I do this several times a week.  Most (not all) jurisdictions in the greater Kansas City Missouri area allow an attorney to appear on behalf of a client and pull a warrant.  Yesterday, I appeared in Kansas City and Lee’s Summit and pulled warrants for a client.

Aimee Gromowsky is a traffic ticket attorney in Kansas City Missouri.

(And I hope those that read this will keep me in mind if they get a speeding or traffic ticket as that’s my livelihood.)

The Kansas City Zoo 816-513-5723

The Zoo offers a three-day camp called Pathfinder Camp.  It runs Wednesday through Friday from 8:30 to 3:30.  Campers must bring their own lunch and costs $105.

Lyric Opera 816-471-4933

This is an entertaining option for older kids interested in the performing arts.  Camp runs 12:30 to 4:00, Monday through Friday of Spring Break and costs $105 (scholarships available).   This is for ages 9-18 and will culminate with a performance on Friday for families and friends of campers.  I will definitely refer back to this as my kids grow up because this is an amazing opportunity.

Jewish Community Center 913-327-8000

JCC has a K-5th grade program.  Bring your own lunch with swimming in the afternoon and  some field trips in the morning.  $45 per day; $67 for field trip days.    This sounds like such an amazing option but probably out of our price range.  They are doing field trips on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Theater of the Imagination 816-561-278

The always amazing Theater of the Imagination is putting on a camp at Blue Valley Northwest High School.   They write, direct, produce and perform a play in a week.  No prima donnas need apply as each person gets an equal role.  There are both afternoon (12:30-3:00) and morning (9:00-11:30) sessions; $85 for a session (M-F) or $135 for both sessions.  If kids are doing both session, they need to bring a lunch.

YMCA Vivon Rd 816-453-6600

Learn to Swim During Spring Break at the Y offers classes at 11:35 and 7:05.  Class is forty-five minutes, $40 for members and $80 for non-members.  We did this last year and LOVED it.  It gave our 1st grader a bunch of confidence in his swimming.  I will check to see if any other Y’s are offering the Spring Break swimming classes.

City of Mission Parks and Rec (pdf) 913-722-8200

For the very reasonable price of $109 for residents and $119 for non-residents, Mission is offering a spring break camp that includes a bowling field trip and two swimming days.  Bring your own lunch and they provide snacks.  This is definitely geared towards the working parent with hours from 7:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m.

Kansas City Young Audiences 816-531-4022

KCYA is housed at St. Theresa’s Academy in Brookside.  In addition to year-round classes, they offer a Spring Break Camp with a smattering of offering according to age and interest including a Musical Camp, Camp Comedy and an Arts Sampler.  Prices range from $140 to $240 depending on the camp.  As with every camp I have found, it’s bring your own lunch.

Mid American Nazarene University - 913.971.3262

Mid-American is located in Olathe Kansas and offers this morning, half-day camp for $80 for ages 5-14.  The kids are divided into age and gender groups from 8:30 - 12:00 p.m.  You can drop the kids off at 8:00 a.m..  Kids must bring water bottle, outdoor shoes, indoor shoes, shin guards, soccer ball and a snack is optional.  Fills up fast.

I will add more as I find them.

Aimee Gromowsky is a traffic attorney serving the greater Kansas City Missouri area as well a mother to three.

This must be a trick used by a small town to ensare speeders.

In my first post, Driving While Suspended, Part One, I examined the consequences both civil and criminal of a Driving While Suspended charge.

The next several posts will be about how your license came to be suspended in the first place, and the remedy for getting it back.

The most common Driving While Suspended charge I handle is when someone forgets to pay a ticket.  It may slip their mind or they may just ignore the ticket.  But somehow - a moving violation was not paid.

In some cases, you will receive notice from the Department of Revenue that your license is unpaid because of a “Failure to Appear” warrant.  But other times, the DOR will not notify you at all and the first you hear of the suspension is when you are pulled over for something else.  (The best way to get timely notices is to keep your address current on your driver’s license.)

So your license is suspended because of an unpaid ticket.  What do you do next?  First, call the Department of Revenue (573-526-2407) and find out the city with the unpaid ticket.  The DOR will also give you the phone number & the ticket number of the outstanding ticket.

Call the city to find out how you can take care of the warrant.  Many times, you can go in & pay the ticket and the warrant will disappear (of course, that will result in points so that may not be the most ideal scenario).  You may also have to put up a bond and get a new court date.

Either way, you will want to get a Letter of Compliance.  This letter tells the Department of Revenue that you have taken care of the warrant.  This letter can be brought into a Department of Revenue office or you can even fax it to them at  (573) 526-2511.

There is also usually a reinstatement fee of $20 for a Failure to Appear Suspension.

An attorney (like myself) can help you with some of these steps as well.

Part One focused on the civil and criminal ramifications of a Driving Under the Influence.

Part Three will focus on Points Suspensions.

Truman Tickets serves clients charged with Driving While Suspended.  Please call or fill out the Estimate Form so we can help you with your ticket.  The choice of a lawyer is important and should not be based solely on advertisements.

Police Car Lights, Kansas City Missouri Municipal Court

(pic courtesy of davidsconscott15)

Many times I receive phone calls from people whose were pulled over by the police and are informed by the officer that their license is suspended.  They are then issued a Driving While Suspended ticket.

There are two separate issues when you receive a Driving While Suspended ticket - criminal (the ticket itself) and civil (points & your driver’s license).

The range of punishment for a Driving While Suspended in Kansas City is one day to six months in jail and/or a fine of $500.

In addition, if you plead guilty you will get twelve points (pdf) on your drivers license and certaintly extend the time your license is suspended.

I cringe every time I am in Court and someone representing themselves pleads guilty to a Driving While Suspended - the outcome is generally not good in terms of their criminal and civil record - not to mention the insurance ramifications.

Part Two will begin to examine why your license is suspended in the first place.

Aimee Gromowsky is a traffic attorney serving the greater Kansas City Missouri and would like to help you if you received a Driving While Suspended.

The Roundup leads off in Gainesville Florida with the Florida Gators football team racking up 251 traffic citations from 2006 to 2009.  The charges range from speeding tickets to more serious charges of Driving Whiles Suspended and Resisting Arrest.  The Orlando Sentintel article also details that Huntley Johnson has represented many of the players.  Other than pertaining to eligibility, the NCAA forbids the University for paying any kind of legal representation.  Therefore, the players themselves are picking up the tab for the tickets which would be tough on a student-athelete’s budget.

Montgomery Texas District Attorney (@MontgomeryTXDAO) Brett Ligonn is planning on twaming (tweeting and shaming) drunk drivers by publicizing their arrests on twitter. It is a matter of public record and anyone would be able to do it but it seems way over the top.  On Monday morning, Dec 28th, the TWAMING has begun.  3 Defendants have been outed.

Speeders in New Haven Connecticut received a break this Holiday season when the Prosecutor agreed to drop speeding ticket charge in exchange for $50 worth of toys for Toys for Tots.   In the end, the Prosecutor’s office collected $30,000 worth of toys for the program.  Extortion or good deeds - it’s your call.

Aimee Gromowsky, a speeding ticket attorney, serves the greater Kansas City Missouri area.

This headline struck fear in many Tiger’s hearts, “Tiller Suspended for Speeding Ticket” but it worked out fine as the Tigers pound UAPB.  Missouri Tiger basketball player J.T. Tiller was suspended for the game due to his arrest for an unpaid speeding ticket.

A new state law in Georgia adds $200 to your speeding ticket fine if you are going eight-five on a highway.   So the fine could be as much as $400 and you would still get the points on your record.   Many jurisdiction in Missouri add an extra fine if you are going in excess of twenty miles or more but there is no state law mandating it.

Speeding Ticket Airplane

A speeding ticket airplane is landing down under for a holiday ticketing blitz.  Widely used, worldwide - this time, airborne speed camera equipment offers the additional capability of photographing license plates and automatically preparing citations for dropping in the mail.  The system will depend on pavement markings to estimate speed using a time-over distance method.

My epic “Everything I Know About Fixing Tickets in Kansas City” is  a work in progress but check it out for useful information regarding avoiding points and insurance hikes for a ticket in Kansas City Missouri.

Aimee Gromowsky is a speeding ticket attorney serving the greater Kansas City Metro area.

Kansas City Municipal Court Parking Map

On Monday, a client I was to meet at Kansas City Municipal Court, texted me to find out the best place to park. Eureka!!! - that sounds like a great blog post.

Off-Street Parking

The red lines indicate metered parking.  It may sound strange but the best time to find metered parking is twenty minutes after a docket has started.  The docket times at KC Muni are 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 so spots are usually open at 9:25, 10:35, 11:35, 2:05, 3:05 and 4:05.

Outdoor Parking Lots

There are two outdoor lots convenient to Kansas City Municipal Court.  Both are off West of Holmes and before Cherry.  They can vary from $3 to $8 for parking.  The lot on the North side of Cherry is a flat $5 and they accept checks.  None of these lots take credit cards.

Parking Garages

My personal favorite is the underground garage directly facing the 11th Street Entrance to Court - the J.E. Dunn parking lot.  The parking lot is six levels and the daily lots are P5 & P6.  You can then take the elevator or stairs to the ground level.  Although is might be impossible to get anything done at Kansas City Municipal Court in 30 minutes, your parking is free here if you are in & out in 30 minutes.  Get read, set, go!!!  You could pay as much as $10 in this garage.

There is also a garage at 11th & Oak which is a one block walk east to Court.

Directions

The official parking from Kansas City is here:

Kansas City Municipal Court Directions

My Plug

Most times, I can handle your Kansas City Municipal Court speeding ticket without you being in Court so you won’t even have to hassle with parking!

Aimee Gromowsky is a Speeding Ticket Attorney serving the greater Kansas City Missouri area.

When someone calls me with a Kansas City Municipal Court ticket, I have three questions:

1. At what speed were you ticketed and the speed zone?
2. Are you twenty-one or older?
3. Have you had a ticket in Kansas City in the past twelve months?

Your speed and the Speed Zone

Part of the price is determined by the speed.  Kansas City breaks down the prices as follows

• 0-15       $193.50
• 15-20    $243.50
• 21-25     $293.50

There are variables to the amounts.  The following will affect the total amount of the fine.

• School Zone (add another $50)
• Construction Zone (fines start at $436.50)
• Whether you have had a ticket amended in Kansas City in the past twelve months.  (add another $50)

How Old Are You?

If you are under the age of twenty-one, Kansas City Municipal Court requires you to take the Alive at Twenty-Five class.  This class must be taken prior to your court date.  If you have to take the class, we will set your court date out a couple of months so you will be able to complete the class.

A prior ticket in Kansas City in the Past Twelve Months?

If you have had a ticket amended in the past twelve months, then the price increases by $50.

Some more tidbits

If you were going 26 or above, you will need to appear in Court with me.  The Prosecutors in Kansas City do not offer Defective Equipments for that speed.  We will ask the Judge for a “Suspended Imposition of Sentence” which is a probation.  In most cases, you will be required to take a driving school.

Most speeding tickets at KC Muni do not require a Court appearance by the speeder.  I appear on behalf of the client.

Here is some pics I took at KC Muni today:

For more information regarding Kansas City Municipal Court, please visit our Kansas City Municipal Court Page.

Aimee Gromowsky is a speeding ticket lawyer in Kansas City Missouri.

Kansas City Traffic Attorney

The Docket begins tonight with the bizarre Ohio Appeals court case where a speeder was convicted of a speeding ticket when the officer testified, “As it (the car) approached I could hear the vehicle on the roadway which based on my training and experience it is consistent with a vehicle that was in excess of the posted speed limit.”  Is this a joke?  Someone got convicted because the police officer said the car sounded like it was speeding.  I rarely try speeding cases, but if anyone presents this fact scenario to me, I will do the trial for free.  This is ridiculous.

And the Appellate Court rightly called out the trial judge,  calling the ruling a “manifest miscarriage of justice.”

Kansas City Municipal Court, Kansas City Traffic Attorney

Moving onto Kansas City’s own “Driving While Suspended” sting which took place on Monday. KCPD received a special grant to step up enforcement of Driving While Suspended defendants. As Defendants exited the Courthouse, police identified those who were driving without valid license, either suspended or revoked.  If these guys started to drive, they were stopped and arrested for Driving While Suspended/Revoked.  The sting netted six arrests - one for Felon In Possession which is a federal charge.

These guys are not bright - driving themselves to Court.  I always advise clients to have a family member or friend take them to Court.  Kansas City is not the first municipality to try this kind of sting and they won’t be the last.

And the video tonight is labeled “World’s Wildest Speeding Ticket”

I have to admit that the police officer really kept his cool.  The speeder seems like his mother let him get away with temper tantrums.

Aimee Gromowsky is an traffic attorney based in Kansas City, Missouri, serving the greater Kansas City metro area.

Lawmakers in Jeff City want a piece of the Red Light Camera pie. Rep. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, and co-sponsored by Rep. Timothy Jones, R-Eureka, among others, are offering a bill that would take red light camera revenue and plow it back into the schools.  Kansas City claims it has made 1.4 million in revenues from the camera tickets.  That revenue would go to the schools rather than the general fund.

An idea for Red Light Camera revenues in Washington D.C. Advocacy group, Greater, Greater Washington advocate that the revenues generated by the red light cameras in D.C. be re-distributed to the citizens a la the Alaska Permanent Funds which redistributes oil revenue to the citizens of Alaska.  The problem is that Alaska operates with a surplus as opposed to D.C. who I suspect operate very much in the red and need that revenue in their general fund.  Anyone who says red light cameras are for public safety is not being genuine.

Watch out for the creepy white van - not stranger danger, rather speeding camera and computer. After a couple weeks of issuing warnings for speeders identified by the the speeding camera, Baltimore Maryland has started sending out actual tickets with fines of $40 and no points.   That kind of van would send a stake through my business model.

And the Flash Gets a Speeding Ticket

Aimee Gromowsky is a traffic ticket lawyer in Kansas City Missouri and serves Kansas City Municipal Court and the greater Kansas City area.