Fighting a ticked

chuck d wrote:

if the cop shows up, you will lose. if you lose, you pay court costs, which are quite often higher than the ticket itself.

Really? I had never heard this, does anyone else know if this is true?

if you do have a clean record, you can often make a deal with the prosecutor that will reduce the charges or get rid of the points. before you enter the courtroom, meet with the prosecutor and say, hey, i have a clean record, he got me for going 10 over the limit, but it was less, what can you do?

the worst thing that happens is that you have to pay the entire fee plus court costs. but i'd say there's a 90 percent chance you'll get out of paying the entire fee or get assigned points.

Go to traffic school and consider it a lesson learned. Internet traffic schools take about 1 hour of your time. Your record stays clean. Nothing changes on your insurance. If you lose in court it goes on your record, your insurance goes up and your basically screwed.

perhaps i should qualify those statements (and this could depend on what jurisdiction you're in). anyone who tells you cops "usually" don't show up is wrong. the rate is probably only about 20% of the time that they don't show up, maybe even less. if you have a weak case, i.e. the cop is there, testifies his gun said you were twenty over, and you have no rebuttal, you aren't going to win. unless you show something really compelling, the judge will believe the cop. in many places, if you lose you will automatically pay court costs. other places it is in the discretion of the judge, who will usually make you pay if he thinks you wasted his time. so, if you actually did violate traffic laws (it's rather rare that someone gets a ticket and really wasn't) and you don't have some adequate defense, i would proceed under the assumption that if you actually appear in court, you will pay court costs in addition to your ticket - unless you get lucky and the cop doesn't show up. and you also need to keep in mind that in some jurisdictions that doesn't mean the case is dropped, merely that the case is continued to another date. so you might end up going to court twice, paying for court costs for not one but two dates, and still paying the fine.

Going down fighting wrote:

Ok, so I was driving today and I got a ticket for 10 over. The cop told me where he was parked. First, I have a great driving record, never been pulled over. Second, he told me where he was parking, when I went back and looked at it, it was private property. I didn't think they could sit in private property and pull you over, is it worth fighting?

Stop whining and pay the ticket.

maybe, maybe not. it's not poker, buddy. if you were speeding, and i was, and i just send in the check pleading guilty, i get 4 points, pay $155 and have it affect my insurance. if i fight it and don't plead down, there's the chance of getting off completely or losing. the fine in the long run is no big deal, but the other consequences are. the $6 court cost was of no concern to me. if you get your fine reduced, no points and keep your record clear, you take it. the point is to plead not guilty and show up at the hearing no matter what unless of course the court costs are outrageous where you live.

Going down fighting wrote:

Second, he told me where he was parking, when I went back and looked at it, it was private property. I didn't think they could sit in private property and pull you over, is it worth fighting?

Think about how this would play out in court:

Judge: Mr. Police Man, was he speeding?

Cop: Yes

Judge: Mr. Going Down Fighting, were you speeding?

You: Yes, but... (gavel comes down)

Judge: You lose.

You are certainly welcome to fight the ticket. You can't "win" if you don't try. On the other hand most of what everyone else has pointed out is correct. Most of the time the cop will show for court. We get overtime for court appearances and we have bills too. Judges do tend to take our word for things. Not all the time, but most of the time. Like I tell people, if the judge didn't believe us, whats the point of writing tickets? Yes, even if you "win" you lose. Why? Court surcharges are typically astronomical. Often people find themselves fined a negligible amount, say $20, but the court costs run anywhere from $40 to $100 or more. Being parked on private property has nothing to do with anything. People typically invite me to use their driveway or lawn if they think people are speeding near their house and they want something done. There is many myths about what will get a ticket tossed, and most are just that, myths. Botching your name by a letter or two won't cut it. The officer would have to put down the wrong street or wrong car for you to have any hope of a dismissal. You can pay a lawyer to take care of the ticket. 99% of the time they'll get that reduction for you, but your gonna pay out the ass.

My advice to people is show up and talk to the judge. If he/she can out a face with the name they are a lot less likely to "assess the maximum penalty". If you have kids, bring them. Ideally, they should cry and say "please don't take my daddy away". There wouldn't even be a surcharge for that....

I was pulled over on June 15th...got a lawyer, he is taking care of the rest, but said that he should get either, the ticket dismissed, reduced to equipment failure, or a probation thing where I have to go 6-12 months without another traffic ticket, he said he assured me one of those three. He said more than likely it will be tossed out because they never sent me a court notice for the 25th. I'll write what the outcome is in three days! My advice, ask some friends if they have had a ticket and know a lawyer to get them out of it, cuz its only going to cost me $100 and it was a $133 ticket! try to find a lawyer and fight it.

Oh and my little town of just 5,000+ knows when its quota time, cuz the cops will pull you over for just slowing down to 34 in a 35, pretty ridiculous but thats my town for you!

Good Luck!

Geoff

Cop wrote:

My advice to people is show up and talk to the judge. If he/she can out a face with the name they are a lot less likely to "assess the maximum penalty". If you have kids, bring them. Ideally, they should cry and say "please don't take my daddy away". There wouldn't even be a surcharge for that....

Would I have to first deny responsibility to do this? I don't know who the judge is, or could I just go down to the Court House and they would point me in the right direction?

There should be information on the ticket regarding where and when to go to court. In small town courts where the judge is also the town barber, mortician and mechanic the "ASS" routine (Apology, Stupidity, Sympathy) routine works well. When your asked how you want to plea you respond with something like: "I'm so so sorry your honor, I don't know what to do. I just want to get this taken care of. My -insert close relative here- had chemo today and he/she gets awful sick afterwards. I have to suction his/her throat so he/she doesn't choke on his/her vomit." No one likes awkward moments including judges.

That means getting rid of you quick - and the fastest way to that is 4 words: "I'll dismiss the charge." Think you can't lie? How many people lie to the cops? "No officer, I haven't had anything to drink", "No officer, I don't have a clue as to why you stopped me." Consider a 30-70%

hike in your insurance rates and you'll give Pinnochio a run for his money. In larger courts where the judge might actually wear a black robe and have a law degree my suggestion is short and simple: Be polite & ask for a "reduction". 9 times out of 10 (assumimg your driving record is reasonably good) judges will give you a reduction just for asking. It's the same thing a lawyer would get you, minus the $200 price tag.

Do not try the "ASS" routine on a "real" judge, aside

from the fact they've heard it all before, deciding your fate is their job, a job that like the rest of us, they sometimes have to justify by actually doing something. In smaller municipalities a tossed ticket is a guaranteed vote come election time, ensuring he gets to keep his cushy little part time gig.

chuck d is a fool with a two-inch wanger

[quote]chuck d wrote:

the rate is probably only about 20% of the time that they don't show up, maybe even less.

just wondering where you get that figure from...you say "probably' and "maybe" so i don't think you are getting these figures from a solid source. is this just Chuck D showing his ignorance again or what? Lots of talk, lots of bullshit, as usual.

Now you done it son, showing up at letsrun(from the law).com and trying to get out of my ticket!

Your only way out of this now is to send $200 to

OfficerTickedOff@paypal.com

or you get 12 points for wreckless driving and your insurance goes to $5000 per year.

How much does your insurance go up for a simple speeding ticket? like 5-10 over?

I thought a tick bit you and you had to fight it.

I've heard that if they cite you for speeding at a speed faster than you know you were going, say 14 over when you know you were only 11 over, (when 14 plus over is a much higher fine), you can ask to see the radar gun to verify their claim then and there. This may just be another myth, but when I got pulled over near a small town having set my cruise control at 9 over and got pulled over for doing "13" over, I asked to see the radar gun and after stuttering said that he was only going to give me a warning anyway. Could have backfired though I guess if he really was going to just give me a warning but that had really pissed him off.

I also got off one time because I was told I was doing 12 over (when I know I was speeding, but not over 10 over) but the cop said he didn't actually get it on his radar gun...

Well just got a call from my attorney...My ticket got deferred..I don't have any record of it, unless I get another ticket within the next six months. I would suggest to anyone who gets a ticket to fight it, I was going 16 over! Fight the law, you will win!

Reassuring to know you're back on the roads again.