Speeding ticket

Wow, that is interesting. I'm eager to see how this turns out, and what more knowledgable people think.

I don't think that court date will cut it as far as getting off on the technicality.

It is also a myth that if the police officer doesn't show up, you get off. In truth, challenge the radar gun, and say his estimation was off. There's no way he could have gunned you, clocked you, and estimated. Well if he did then you are a moron.

Challenge the radar gun, say you were going at most 3 miles over the limit.

Hopefully you have a strong, clean record to support your "safe and responsible" driving.

if you don't use a scummy lawyer you will lose.

Random Lurker Guy wrote:

I don't think that court date will cut it as far as getting off on the technicality.

It is also a myth that if the police officer doesn't show up, you get off. In truth, challenge the radar gun, and say his estimation was off. There's no way he could have gunned you, clocked you, and estimated. Well if he did then you are a moron.

Challenge the radar gun, say you were going at most 3 miles over the limit.

Hopefully you have a strong, clean record to support your "safe and responsible" driving.

Well, that's not going to work since it would cost me more to go down there (in gas money) to challenge the ticket than it would cost to just pay it. I got the ticket on a road trip.

The time he gave me the ticket was also incorrectly recorded on the ticket. However, that wouldn't make any difference since I couldn't prove that anyway. However, improper court date I think may get me somewhere.

beer miler wrote:

I got a speeding ticket a few weeks ago (75 in a 65).

Bummer.

The court date put on there is set in the past. He put down January 24, 2006. Any way I can get out of this on a technicality?

Nope. It also wouldn't matter if he wrote down the wrong color for your car or if he made a mistake spelling your last name or plate number.

It was in Kentucky if that matters.

It doesn't.

Highway speeding tickets are among the toughest to beat. This is probably a situation where you should just suck it up and go to traffic school.

Trollie McSockpuppet wrote:

Nope. It also wouldn't matter if he wrote down the wrong color for your car or if he made a mistake spelling your last name or plate number.

Ok, but how I am supposed to know when I'm supposed to show up to defend myself if I choose to?

Go to the court date and plead not guilty. They will give you a trial date. Go to the trial. If the cop shows, ask if he is certified and trained to use radar. Ask to see his certification. He won't have it with him. Ask when he tuned his radar that day. Ask to see his tuning records. He won't have them. Ask when the radar was calibrated. Ask to see the calibration records. He won't have them. Ask if he is a certified peace officer. Ask to see his commission. He might have that. Tell the judge or jury (I'm not sure how they do it in Kentucky)that the cop has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were speeding.

Interesting points above, but have you ever actually tried that or seen it tried and work?

Wow, sounds like a the typical 'lawyer' that gets put in jail every night. Actually, these aren;t bad questions but most agencies have fought a few speeding citations and require their employees to show up properly prepared for court. All these certifications are part of that preparation.

Every state is different but the time you turned on your radar and the tuning fork data is not kept in most states. His cerification as a peace officer should not be challenged by the court in a speed related hearing.

Anyway, to answer the original poster, the date can be amended. In fact almost everything can be amended on the citation. The officer can amend the citation in court on the day of trial. This is not an issue at all. Speeding citations are civil infractions, not criminal (usually - in this case, it is civil). Rules of the court are a bit different in hearings vs. trials.

Because you are quite a distance from the court, I would recommend paying it or going to traffic school and calling it a day. Setting a court date is only best if you can go. In that case, a decent defense would be required (something other than .....'the guy in front of me was speeding as well'....or 'your radar gun wasn't working').

Condor wrote:

Go to the court date and plead not guilty. They will give you a trial date. Go to the trial. If the cop shows, ask if he is certified and trained to use radar. Ask to see his certification. He won't have it with him. Ask when he tuned his radar that day. Ask to see his tuning records. He won't have them. Ask when the radar was calibrated. Ask to see the calibration records. He won't have them. Ask if he is a certified peace officer. Ask to see his commission. He might have that. Tell the judge or jury (I'm not sure how they do it in Kentucky)that the cop has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were speeding.

No traffic court judge is going to let this happen in his court. This isn't the OJ trial.

He will shut you up, and you will look like an ass.

What is the fascination amoung all of you for pretending you are above the law?

The guy was speeding.

Why should he not pay the fine? Why be an ass to the officer for doing his job?

Laugh at me if you think I am naive, but many of you suggest he go into court and state things as facts that he knows are not true. What ever happened to honesty ? Especially under oath in a courtroom... that's also lawbreaking as well as simple dishonesty.

trailrunner63 wrote:

Laugh at me if you think I am naive, but many of you suggest he go into court and state things as facts that he knows are not true. What ever happened to honesty ? Especially under oath in a courtroom... that's also lawbreaking as well as simple dishonesty.

I think you and Judge make great points.

trailrunner63 wrote:

Laugh at me if you think I am naive, but many of you suggest he go into court and state things as facts that he knows are not true. What ever happened to honesty ? Especially under oath in a courtroom... that's also lawbreaking as well as simple dishonesty.

If you cannot bring yourself to lie in courst, hire a lawyer. He'll do it for you.

contact the court listed on the ticket. talk to a clerk of court (but not just a secretary or receptionist) or ask to speak to a district attorney - they will tell you the truth

you might get lucky.

You'll get the clerk of court most likely. If you explain your situation, and make yourself sound like a normally responsible driver(with a clean record) they might just throw it out all together, or just give you the minimum possible fine.

Same exact thing happened to me, and it got thrown out. Just be charismatic. Perception is everything.

bump

be (or at least appear) honest and forthright... don't sound like you're trying to get out of it...

beer miler wrote:

I got a speeding ticket a few weeks ago (75 in a 65). The court date put on there is set in the past. He put down January 24, 2006. Any way I can get out of this on a technicality? It was in Kentucky if that matters.

Here's a crazy idea -- admit fault (because you know you were speeding) and pay the fine like a man. Then, don't break the law anymore.

Not everyone has to be the perfect, upstanding citizen and/or human being that you are, Flagpole.

I know we should all strive to be just like you, but unfortunately just about all of us come up a bit short.