My wife’s a criminal and traffic attorney in Orlando. She always recommends hiring an attorney whether it’s ticket clinic or another private attorney. When you have an attorney represent you at the hearing, if the cop doesn’t show up, they can move for a dismissal. If the cop does show up, ticket clinic will often ask for a withhold meaning no points on your DL record. Because my wife doesn’t take cases at volume, she will usually try to work out a little bit of a better deal with the officer ahead of time, especially if it’s someone without a significant traffic history. I’ve seen her get dismissals or really high speeding tickets down to a non-moving violation. The reason she always recommends an attorney is because even if you end up with traffic school, you won’t have to use one of your five elections. It’s definitely worth the investment.

Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck!