Fighting a speeding ticket

aephi alum · #1 07-09-2003, 07:39 PM

So the other day my husband got a speeding ticket. I'm sure many of you know the drill - cop sees car with out-of-state plates, cop hits car with instant-on radar (which is the invention of the devil

), cop adds 5-10mph to whatever it registers, cop writes ticket for large sum of money. (Actually, in New York they will no longer tell you the $ amount - "it's up to the judge" the cops say.

) They target out-of-staters because they figure they will just pay the fine rather than schlep to court and risk getting the points reported to their home state.

But DH is stubborn, we can ill afford the fine, and he doesn't want points on his license, so he's fighting the ticket. He has already sent in his plea of not guilty, and we're waiting on the court date. He's hoping that either the cop won't show up, or that he can get the ticket thrown out because the cop misspelled our street address or because we were racing to the airport to make a flight. He's been advised that he'll be offered the chance to plead guilty to a lesser offense that doesn't carry points (such as a parking ticket - like you can park on an interstate!) and that he will need to pay the fine, in cash, on the spot at traffic court.

So - anyone else been down this road? (pun intended

) Advice?

PandaOnProzac · #2 07-09-2003, 08:20 PM

I was going to fight my ticket but I dunno how much Cali law differs from NY law. I went 55 in a 40 but I was the only one on the road but I do admit to DWB (driving while brown) in a BMW which I DIDN'T steal. I guess with the budget crisis in Cali the cops are forced to bring in as much revenue.

aephi alum · #3 07-09-2003, 08:31 PM

Yep, same deal in NY. The state and the towns are hurting financially, so they figure they'll collect a little "road usage tax" and out-of-staters will just quietly pay up.

Peaches-n-Cream · #4 07-09-2003, 08:38 PM

This used to happen all the time to people driving to college in upstate NY and PA. They used to have an option of pay the fine within the week and there will be no points. I don't know if that is still the case or not.

Good luck fighting the ticket.

RUgreek · #5 07-09-2003, 09:01 PM

Out of state tickets don't carry points on your license I thought? Well, in any case, fighting a ticket, regardless of what happened is a smart idea.

The idea goes you show up in court, the judge asks if you plead guilty or not guilty, so then you'll stand over by the not guilty group. Then you'll be told to go wait on line or outside until the prosecutor can speak to you about the ticket. He/She will ask you what happened, and which point you'll make the case. No matter what you say (Aliens were chasing me), you'll get no pity from them. They'll offer you a higher fine and no points, or you can take a chance with judge directly. 9 times out of 10, you will not sway a judge, they support the police unless you got a plunger jammed up your ass while being frisked (even then a judge may not be on your side).

So, long story short (too late) take the fine and suck it up. If you want to avoid the points, go with what I said, it's the way our society works.

Goodluck!

RUgreek

steelepike · #6 07-09-2003, 10:04 PM

Well i am sorry to say but if the Cop shows, which he most likely will do you aren't getting off. Most likely a plea will be given they almost always do that. And even if the cop is a no show its gonna be tough to get off. The cops are supposedly very trust worthy. Even little things like the mispelling won't get you off, i know a guy who was charged with the wrong criminal act and they just changed the charge at trial.

valkyrie · #7 07-09-2003, 10:40 PM

95% of the time, the judge is going to believe the cop over the defendant. That said, I once watched a defendant represent himself at a bench trial on a speeding ticket and he won. That is very, very rare.

Of course I know nothing about New York law, but I can say that a lot of what happens in court completely depends on the judge and the state's attorney. Before I went to law school, I fought a traffic ticket in Cook County and won. There, the procedure was a lot like what RUgreek described. However, when I used to work in traffic/misdemeanor court in Kane County, it was different because cases actually get set for trial after the first court appearance, and that means that it is much more likely that the cop will show up if he/she knows there is a trial.

In my experience, if it's a minor thing like speeding and the cop doesn't show up for the trial, it gets dismissed. Sometimes the state will get a continuance, but not usually for such a little thing.

In my experience, I have never seen a ticket get thrown out because of anything being spelled wrong, and rushing to make a flight is not a defense to anything. It might be a good idea for him to consider whatever offer he gets at court. In Illinois at least, we have court supervision, and that doesn't affect your insurance rates.

aephi alum · #8 07-09-2003, 10:53 PM

Ah... lovely.

Out-of-state tickets used to not carry points, but these days, neighboring states tend to communicate - so if DH pleaded guilty he might very well have gotten the points along with the fine, just as if it had been in-state.

DH has already pleaded not guilty, so I think we're stuck with going to trial.

He was supposedly clocked at 80 in a 55 zone. This is on an interstate that can easily support 65 (and everyone does 80 or more). He was the unlucky one.

valkyrie - yes, part of what I'm concerned about is our insurance. I hit a patch of ice last winter and our insurance rates skyrocketed

I don't want anything like that to happen again.

Roseblum15 · #9 07-09-2003, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by PandaOnProzac
I was going to fight my ticket but I dunno how much Cali law differs from NY law. I went 55 in a 40 but I was the only one on the road but I do admit to DWB (driving while brown) in a BMW which I DIDN'T steal. I guess with the budget crisis in Cali the cops are forced to bring in as much revenue.

You either missed the point entirely or you wont accept resposibility for your actions. You were going 55 in a 40, where I come from that is speeding, so don't go saying that the cop was racist and pulled you over just for that.

AchtungBaby80 · #10 07-10-2003, 12:17 AM

Unfortunately I don't have any advice, but I can share with you my very own Cops-Are-A**holes story...

I was driving home from my sister's engagement party, which was in the city I went to university in, to my family's house about 45 minutes away. It was late at night, but the street lights are so bright in town that I didn't notice I didn't have my headlamps fully turned on. Well, directly I see this cop following me, but he didn't have his lights on so I didn't stop. After a couple of blocks, the cop's lights go on, so I pull over at a gas station just in case he's after me. He turned on that huge flashlight thing and aimed it directly at my rearview mirror before he got out of his car and came over to my window and did the usual spiel ("Let's see license, registration, insurance...yada yada"). The trouble started when he asked me if I had been drinking and I said no, because I hadn't. Well, to make a long story short, the moron was convinced that I had definitely been drinking because 1) I was driving at night, and 2) I had on a cocktail dress. He grilled me about where I was going, where I'd been, what I was doing on the road, my parents' names, why I had overnight bags in my truck, etc etc. I guess he was put out that he didn't catch me driving drunk, so he wrote me a ticket even though I had never been pulled over before...come on, who gets a ticket for not having their headlights on bright enough? The guy was a complete jerk about it, and I ended up having to pay about $80, so I totally feel sorry for you. Your situation is a lot worse than mine was, but please know that you get those kind of cops everywhere.

sigmanuzk · #11 07-10-2003, 12:52 AM

Speeding and other traffic offenses are strict liability laws, so while most crimes require you to have criminal intent to be prosecuted just the fact that you commited this act is enough for you to be held responsible, so no reason you give for it will be enough to have the judge let you off. Chances are that you will have to pay the fine, I'd still fight it if it isn't too far to go though, the judge may have mercy on you and give a one-year suspended dissposition which is like saying if you promise to be a good boy for a year and commit no more crimes they'll just forget all about it.

Kevin · #12 07-10-2003, 01:11 AM

A little hijack...

My little brother recieved a ticket for DUI in Texas on the way home from the OU/TX game. Cop writes that his Blood/Alcohol % was .3. That would make him dead.

Then the cop allows him to drive home. It was really .03 and since he was a minor, anything over .01 is considered DUI.

He got out of this one I *think* because of the poorly written ticket. I really don't actually know how he got out of it but he did.

bruinaphi · #13 07-10-2003, 01:28 AM

This isn't directed at any particular post above, but is just my general sentiment after reading this thread:

Ok, I can't believe this is about to come out of my mouth b/c I am a liberal Democrat, but how come we hire police officers to enforce strict liability laws and then as soon as anyone gets a ticket the police officers are Aholes? Sorry, doesn't compute. Yes, everyone may have been doing it and the cop only pulled you over. They say you commit several hundred (depending on the driver) traffic crimes for each time you're caught. Yes, it sucks that you got a ticket and not a warning, but why does that make the cop an Ahole? Unless they treated you poorly (if they really padded the radar reading, had you get out, frisked you, searched your car), or violated your civil rights they were doing their jobs. If you don't want them to do things like that then you need to lobby to change the laws so that driving with low headlights or 15 mph over the speed limit isn't a crime.

LD

SAEalumnus · #14 07-10-2003, 01:29 AM

aephi alum,

Could you explain a little more about the exact circumstances surrounding the ticket? i.e. How fast were you actually going, what was the posted speed limit, where was the cop when he/she spotted you, was the cop stationary or moving, facing what direction, how fast were they moving (assuming they weren't stationary), etc. Despite the little rant I put up in the Academics forum, I have just finished a degree in physics. Perhaps I can help suggest an approach in court assuming the cop does show up. I'll need as many details as you can give me.

PandaOnProzac · #15 07-10-2003, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Roseblum15
You either missed the point entirely or you wont accept resposibility for your actions. You were going 55 in a 40, where I come from that is speeding, so don't go saying that the cop was racist and pulled you over just for that.

Oh I accept going 55 in a 40 it's just I noticed an attitude change from when I drove a beater Mazda to a new BMW. The cops back home in San Diego are more polite in my opinion than Costa Mesa/Orange County police. I used to think that people saying "oh I was DWB" was stupid but at certain times I feel people are justified that way. I grew up in an area that has a 20% minority rate but the community is very open and tolerant. I wouldn't have a problem if I was pulled over by San Diego police.