Fighting a ticked

I got a ticket last fall. First one ever. I went ahead to the defense driving class before my court date. Then when I appeared in court I took the certificate with me. When it was my turn, I showed the judge and told him that I voluntarily took the class. He said he was impressed that I would do that with out being ordered to, so he dropped the ticket completely and I only had to pay the court cost. I had been going 15 miles over so I really needed the class to earn back points for my insurance not to go up.

Hooked has good point. I've worked in the field long enough to know there isn't a person in North America thats ever gotten a call from their lawyer on a saturday afternoon. And for the poster that suggested you "win"

over the law, I'd be hard pressed to find a cop that cares.

about your self proclaimed victory. I recommend people get lawyers and fight tickets. It keeps the lawyers pockets lined and mine as well with the OT. You get your ticket reduced or tossed and we all go home happy.

And there you have the scam, right from the horses mouth.

Truly disgusting, it has nothing to do with keeping people safe, it's all about $$.

Everybody makes money off the guy who gets a ticket and pays to get off and the poor shmuck who owns up to a mistake never EVER gets a break for being honest.

I try to respect cops but this crap is BS.

I got a ticket and the cop signed it at the bottom. No big deal. I was trying to write up some stuff to fight the ticket and I went to write officer _________. Your guess is as good as mine on his name. He signed it where it says PRINT NAME. As well as where it says sign here. So I have no Idea what his name is. Regardless, it shows that this cop is incompetent. How do I go about trying to get this ticket thrown out? Do I need to say I am going to fight it, or can I just take it to the court house to a traffic clerk?

You do not have much of a chance of getting the ticket thrown out for a printing discrepancy just at those who point out spelling errors for getting a "ticked" will never cease to blast message board spelling or grammar errors.

All jurisdictions are different. I had an officer pull me over for allegedly not coming to a full stop at a stop sign. I plead not guilty on the ticket and sent it in. I was assigned a court date, appeared to plead my case, and the prosecutor for the city informed me that the officer did not show, they had no witness, and I won.

I drive 35,000 to 40,000 miles a year with my job. My employer has a policy of 3 moving violations in a 3 year period and I could lose my job. If I get 2 moving violations in 3 years I am put on probation and considered high risk. DUI or capital offense and I lose my job.

I was able to get 2 speeding tickets bargained down to equipment violations (no points on the license and NOT a moving violation). Insurance companies don't care if you have a speeding ticket, fail to obey traffic control device, etc. without points, they look at the violation.

I showed up for mayor's court and gave the mayor a copy of my employer's policy and what a speeding ticket could mean and asked to get it reduced to an equipment violation. they agreed immediately. In the other case I called the city prosecutor and asked to see her and showed her the policy the next day. Showed up for court, informed the magistrate of the consequences and got the equipment violation.

It is a means of generating revenue for the city and showing the residents that speeders are being dealt with. The city gets their money and they are happy. Your driving record has no moving violations and you are happy. I'd rather pay a little more in court costs than have my insurance go up and risk losing my license and job.

Don't argue with the police officer. Be polite, answer their questions, and don't bullshit them. Show up for court clean, don't argue and make your case with proof and try to get the equipment violation or other reduced charge.

With the one ticket the officer told me what he clocked me at, said I could see the reading, and told me when the unit was last calibrated without me asking. Many departments are wise to the whole calibration issue and squash it right away. the ticket even had a section for the date and time of calibration.

Never mind. I looked over the ticket and the officer recorded the road wrong. He said I was on road X when I was on road Y. This will get my ticket voided right?

How are you going to prove you were on that road? Was he referencing the closest interesection?

No it won't..he'll site a clerical error..and you'll be asked, under oath, if in fact it happened on road Y.

This has probably been posted already, but the local yocals only want your $$$..they don't care about wacking you with the points...so fight the ticket and they'll probably eliminate any points and call it a "non-moving" violation (believe it or not..even though you were moving). So cough up the $$ (they may reduce the amount) and get over it..it sucks, but that's life in the big city.

With any luck, the cop will find something more important to do on the day of the hearing, won't show up, and you're good to go.

Good Luck

In California, yes, definitly.

BroBro

Dude, take it from me....you may not even see a Judge it may be the DA (District Attorney). This is what you need to do.

1) PRAY

2) Go in there looking like a professional (White shirt, tie

slacks, black shoes, belt etc.)

3) Don't chew gum

4) Yes sir, no sir. DON'T TRY TO JUSTIFY YOURSELF BY WHINING THAT THE OFFICER WAS DOING THIS OR THAT.

5) Have your money ready.

It will be the local Magistrate...yes, have your money ready and kiss ass anyway.

i got a ticket in michigan.

i paid no extra for court costs.

magistrate said the officer had dropped the ticket to the lowest fine amount already and that was the way it would stand.

It was a learning experience for me.

the policeman stated the calibration stuff and that i had acknowledge the speed. and then i said that i was decelerating from a 45-35 zone and that i was in the process of stopping for the redlight ahead. i knew i had no case, but i wanted to go and see if the cop showed up.

it was also mid night and the roads were completely empty. the cop pulled out and followed me, obviously running my plates. I had foreign plates and was in michigan.. which = guilty.

anyway the bastard came to court, and i lost.

i left feeling that i had voiced my opinion, and it was time well spent (it cost me no more or less)

i was a little pissed when the magistrate made it apparent that he knew the cop.

oh i forgot. go in and watch the proceedings before you. know how the court works. you will only get one change to speak. other than when he asks if you can pay the ticket today! I was saving my 'closing arguements' my best stuff, and i didn't even get to use it!!!!!!!!!!!

so watch and learn before. also, the private resident could have giving the cop permission to sit on his property so that arguement is dead.

Okay, here is the deal...

It can be worth it, but not always...

I recieved a ticket about 7 years ago. I was going 73 in a 65. Less than 10 over.

I went in to fight it. In the courtroom, I figured it would be quick and painless, and I would walk out with no charges.

The cop shows up, the cop tells the DA it was a work zone, which I still am not sure it was, since the ticket said nothing about a work zone, and he did not tell me that when he pulled me over.

I was dressed up, respectful and did not whine. The DA said we had to go in front of the judge since it was now a larger offense due to the work zone. The judge asked if it was a work zone, the cop said yes, I said I didn't think it was.

I sat in a room for about 2 hours and returned to the judge again. It was determined that it was a work zone, the charge was increased to wreckless driving, work zone violation and 73 in a now-all-of-a-sudden 55 mph zone.

To this day, I wonder if I would have had this happen if I would have paid the $100 ticket by mail.

I just got over the insurance costs recently. What a pain.

Always keep in mind that a Police Officer's word means a hell of a lot more than your's while in a court room.

In NC here is how it would work.

About a week after your ticket you'd get about a dozen letters from small law firms offering to take care of it for you for a small fee. I'd pay them about $150-$250 and they would get the ticket reduced to malfunctioning equipment (they tell the judge your speedometer was broken I guess). Then you'd pay the ticket and it wouldn't go on your insurance record. Your driving record would still be clean and you'd make your money back by not having your insurance rates go up.

been there, done that.

Some interesting posts. AJH provided probably the best one. The advice that if stopped you be polite and don't try and bullshit the cop is among the best there is. We deal with a lot of assholes so if you can make yourself stick out from the pack by NOT being one your chances of driving away paper free is much better. As AJH pointed out it's about revenue, it's not a scam as someone had suggested earlier. Crazy as it sounds there are people who WANT us to write speeding (and other) tickets. If you have small children and live near a flat, straight stretch of road, or maybe in an area where the speed limit changes

(and people don't bother to change with it) you too might want a cop to run some radar. To dispel the "show me the radar reading" myth: I wouldn't suggest you ask.

We are NOT obligated to show you and asking will most likely guarantee you a ticket (makes it sound like you don't believe the cop - refer to the earlier "we don't make this stuff up" section). Your best bet may be handle it yourself and simply ask for a reduction. Most of the time asking nicely is all it takes. You can also pay a lawyer and the ticket will be reduced to something non-moving. For those that come hell or high water will go down fighting I would suggest another route. Your chances are slim at best and probably not worth the loss. If you fight and lose you can forget a reduction. ...and yes, I

love donuts.

We don't make shit up. If I'm going to lose my job it WON'T be because I concocted your speeding ticket.

My apologies for the botched cut and paste, but the point was made.

No one here has answered the man's first question.

Is it illegal for a police officer to gun someone from private property and have it count?

The problem I am having with this is that even though the cop didn't have permission to be on the property, who is going to tell a cop to get off their property? They may need them some day. I think I will just ask the officer if he had permission to be parked on the property.