Gary Gordon Campbell, Traffic Attorney

I’ve known Gary almost three decades and he has helped many of my friends with their cases over that time. I do not personally have a lead foot, but have several parking tickets I need assistance with since I no longer live in Oakland. I’m sure Gary will let me know when there’s «Oakland amnesty» so I can clear them up and be the law-​abiding citizen I am. He will also tell you if you can’t win, as he did with one of our friends who insisted he didn’t run a red light. On Christmas Day, Gary sat down with him and reviewed the tape and told him, «Yes, you did run that light. Grow a pair and pay the ticket. [Well, maybe I thought that]. I can’t help you.» I couldn’t recommend him more highly for his integrity, his legal acumen and his wonderful sense of humor.

I’d never received a speeding ticket in my life until just a few months ago, when some CHP officer decided to cite me for going 70mph in a 65mph zone as he was traveling behind me, after I’d changed lanes from legally passing others to the right of me while I was in a left lane. Bear in mind that my «speeding» was consistent with that of the other traffic on the road at that time. A ticket for texting while driving would have been less at the minimum $ 159 or $ 161 whatever it is than what the full penalty given by the CHP officer would have amounted to on my citation. Outrageous! He took care of everything by phone and his fee was reasonable. Calls were returned within 2 days and he was very clear about outlining all of the steps I needed to take. He didn’t try to sell his business to me and left my decision entirely up to me, which is the ethical thing to do.
I’ve never seen him argue in person in court, so I cannot make an informed judgment about that. That’s why I am giving a 4 star rating. Plus the officer did not appear, though that was no fault of Mr. Campbell’s. However, he was able to get my citation dismissed and no fine was imposed. I will certainly recommend him to others who might be in need of attorney services for traffic cases.

I recently retained Gary for a traffic matter in which my conviction would more or less be completely contingent upon the Officers’ testimony, with no outside evidence available, such as a camera, radar gun, etc. On the phone, he advised me that he would take every step possible to get my ticket dismissed, or at the very least, reduced to a non-​point conviction.
While I am fully aware that no legal outcome can be guaranteed, I feel that Gary did not fully explore all possible avenues to get a dismissal or reduction, and I wound up with a point-​carrying conviction, and paid him almost $ 250 for the privilege.
I seem to have a penchant for picking up tickets of all kinds, typically speeding. I have successfully fought, and had dismissed, over 5 tickets in the past two years, all on my own. Following certain online guides to ticket dismissal (Help! I’ve got a ticket! is very useful), I’ve been very successful at various stages in the process, with my cases being dismissed via evidence exclusions, a Trial by Declaration via Mail, in-​person Trial, as well as even on appeal by following very specific procedures.
In this case, I retained Gary, as I did not want to be subject to the Officers questioning under oath, nor did I want to have to plead the fifth, thereby giving the impression that I was guilty (yes, I know, should not be considered an admission of guilt, but c’mon).
Sadly, in this case, I feel like Gary did not follow all of the possible steps that could be done to achieve a dismissal. He only attended the arraignment, and attempted to argue the facts in court. I have no idea how well-​presented his argument was, as I was advised not to attend. No idea whether he tried to make a deal with the Officer to have the conviction reduced to a lesser charge.
But, the point of the matter is this:
–He did not file a request for Discovery, in order to exclude evidence thereafter.
–He did not file a Trial by Declaration via mail, one of the easiest ways to get a ticket dismissed if the Officer doesn’t respond (I’ve had three tickets dismissed this way).
–He did attend the arraignment, which is standard.
–He did attend the in-​person trial. However, again, due to his failure to request Discovery, all evidence was allowed. He did not retain any experts, nor even suggest that my girlfriend attend, who was a witness to the alleged offense.
–No appeal, or offer to file an appeal, was filed.
The entire process from when I retained Gary (about a week after the traffic stop), to when the case was resolved, was close to six months. While I realize the hands of justice are not only blind, but also quite slow, some updates from Gary would have been nice. Not once did he provide me with an update, ever. I called, often every 2 – 3 weeks for an update, not once did he answer his phone — I would only get his voicemail. Return calls typically took 3 – 4 days for a follow-​up, and were brief & curt at best, with Gary seeming not very willing to explain the details of whatever question I had. Finally, when I was convicted, it took him nearly a month to mail out the proper paperwork to me, leaving me with less than two weeks to attend traffic school, versus the 45+ days I would have had, had he mailed the paperwork promptly.
In conclusion, had I known that he would not explore all avenues, and that I would wind up with the same outcome as had I pursued this on my own and lost, I can only feel that I wasted both time and money in retaining Gary.
If you just want someone to show up for you because you don’t have the time to go to court, and are indifferent about the outcome, I suppose Gary would be an ok choice.
However, if you want someone who goes the extra mile, and does everything he can to get your ticket dismissed, Gary is NOT your guy. You’d be best off choosing someone else, or even considering doing the defense yourself, at least you’d have more opportunities at prevailing, and you’d have saved $ 250.

Although i did not hire Gary to represent me, he very generously gave me good advice which helped me evaluate the situation and take traffic school instead. I had spoken to another attorney who had tried to intimidate me and and do a hard-​sell to hire him. Gary was absolutely ethical and efficient in explaining my situation. I will suggest him to my close friends, and appreciate the way he treated my case despite not making any money from it.

Gary did a great job. He was able to get my red light camera ticket dismissed.

This guy is GREAT!!! Handled everything by email and the phone. Got one of those photo red light tickets. Actually a relative got it driving my car. This photo stuff is such a scam. A private company sets up and supplies the equipment and issues the citations. They get the license tag and compares the drivers license photo of the registered owner. If there’s no match, the owner is threatened with an automatic conviction and fine if he doesn’t ID the actual driver. A clearcut violation of the Fourth Amendment. But the Huckleberry traffic judges don’t care. Anyway for a flat fee, Gary handled all the necessary paperwork and court appearances and I got a letter in the mail from the court dismissing the citation. Couldn’t be easier or more convenient.
All my family and friends, if necessary, will use him in the future. I don’t know if he does Small Claims Court stuff, too, but if he does, he’s got my business there also.