Challenging speeding tickets

[billcoe]

Cop was probably a republican. Show up for court and call him a liar.

[Winter]

Yo Dan, I just emailed you an article that ran in the Oregon State Bar Journal this month that provides attorneys advice on practicing in traffic court. Not sure if it will help, but good luck. Kind of a large scan, so let me know if you don't get it. If anyone else wants it, PM me.

[ivan]

highlights, chris? i'm due for a ticket any day now

[Winter]

If the ticket is missing info like date, file a motion to dismiss ahead of time. Ask for discovery ahead of time. Contact whomever you can get a hold of (usually the officer) and discuss alternative resolutions (i.e. settlement).

 

[sobo]

A lot of valid points have been stated here:

1. You did nothing wrong, you can't (well, shouldn't) be at fault.

2. Ask for citing officer to be present.

what happens if the officer who shows up isn't the one who lasered me? The guy who wrote the ticket wasn't the one who was holding the laser gun and flagging people down. Can I be like, "your honor, that's not the right officer."

This one is tricky: did you get the badge number of the cop waving frantically? The cop who wrote the ticket will obviously have a different badge number. Get both now and write them down. Call the department's non-emergency number and request which officers were working that piece of road on that date and time. It's public info - I do it all the time. When frantic waver doesn't show, drop the hammer. You'd have to be able to know which badge number goes with which cop. Does the ticket have the name/badge number of the guy who wrote it to you? Did you notice his name tag?

3. Missing info on the citation is a good way to get it dismissed.

4. rbw is right, a lot of people do show up just to get their tickets mitigated (can't get it mitigated unless you're present). They stand there with a dropped-jaw, vacant stare and just expect to get it reduced (no shit, I've seen it a dozen or more times-one time, this guy told the judge that his friend told him that if he just showed up in court, the judge would reduce the fine! HA! If this judge could have, I'm sure he would have increased it! ). Have your story straight, but like pindude said, never admit guilt. Say exactly what happened when told. Keep it short.

5. DPS said it, too. Get a shave and a haircut. Dress well. Don't act bored, as hard as that's going to be. What letter does your last name start with? They go in alphabetical order, so I've seen a lot of shite before my turn comes up.

6. If you're on real good terms with your insurance agent, have him/her pull your driving record. Typically, they will be able to go back further than the court will go. The court will typically only go back 5 years, and the judge will have that in front of him when he calls your name. If you're a real good driver and you have no tickets, etc., have your agent go back 10 or more years to demonstrate a stellar driving record (assuming you have one). This tactic worked wonders for me on two occasions: both dismissed. I say on real good terms, cuz if you're not, your agent may ask "why do you want it?" and now you've got your agent sniffing around for a possible rate increase.

 

Good luck, man. You're luck has been nothing but shit lately, and I thought I had it bad.

[marylou]

Sobo, that's an excellent idea for future tickets. Long term driving record must help.

 

One time I was waved over in a similar situation to the OP, but on the freeway. I was cited for going a speed my car couldn't even go. I did all the information requests and got the data that caught me for "speeding" only the car was green and *my* car was blue. It was not my car. I explained the circumstances of being pulled over and showed him the airplane records showing a green car and not a blue car, and he said "I have no idea how they ID the cars" and the ticket stood.

 

Lesson there, don't speed in the jurisdiction of the Ellensburg judge. Apparently you get a ticket, that guy lets it stand no matter what.

 

Following lesson: if you drive a semi-sporty SUV (my current car) even in a subdued color, you will be a ticket magnet. I use cruise control a lot and pay attention to signs, and have two deferrals. Also, deferrals are supposed to be only every seven years, but if you ask nice in Twisp, they might give you one anyway.

 

 

[sobo]

define "semi-sporty SUV" pleeze. is that like a Rav4 or sumpin?

[DPS]

Here is another thought:

 

Explain to the judge that you are a trained medical first responder and volunteer for the local search and rescue organization so when you saw the officer waving you thought he needed assistance and that you might be able to help.

[rbw1966]

define "semi-sporty SUV" pleeze. is that like a Rav4 or sumpin?

 

Lesbaru

[tvashtarkatena]

When I think of 'sporty', I think of Austin Martins and Alpha Romeos. When I think of 'sport utility', I think of a box spring on wheels with some packing crates bolted to it.

[John Frieh]

Austin Martins and Alpha Romeos

 

Are those generic knock offs of the real thing or something?

 

Aston Martins and Alfa Romeos

[tvashtarkatena]

American speling of same. But what would I know? I drive a Lesbaru.

Edited September 24, 2008 by tvashtarkatena

[sobo]

When I was growing up in Italy and coming of driving age, my dad had one of these ('74 Fiat 124 Spider) as his "toy":

 

We brought it back to the States with us and I took my driving lessons in it and got licensed. He went back overseas when I was 18 and the rest of the fam stayed in the States, and while he was gone, I promptly wrecked it, had it fixed, and wrecked it again in the 12 months he was gone. When he came home after his TDY ended, he sold it to some Catholic priest. Although he never said anything about me crashing it up for him (twice!), I knew he was pretty fawkin' pissed about it. But it sure was a h00t to drive that baby...

[mkporwit]

define "semi-sporty SUV" pleeze. is that like a Rav4 or sumpin?

 

Oh, something like an Infinity FX35 or FX45, for example. Or a Porsche Cayenne.

[sobo]

Shite, those are way too sporty for my blood! With the coin I'd have to drop for one of those, I'd never take it off the pavement. I'll stick with my '94 Exploder, thankyouverymuch.

[glassgowkiss]

taking car discussion aside always know your rights. first of all you are in title to verifying the radar readout (called radar lock). don't accept ticket till you actually see the figures. before every shift the officer is supposed to tune the radar for the conditions (like fog, rain and so). a proper paperwork must be filled up and the officer must be able to present it during court hearing. if any item missing from this procedure the fine must be dismissed. also know the jurisdiction. a campus police cop cannot issue you a citation. they have to call for city police and hand over the stop, unless your s.o.l and you are a student at the university.

[goatboy]

I don't understand the definition and process of deferral. Can someone explain that one a bit more clearly for the layperson?

[mkporwit]

It is deferred prosecution. You admit to guilt, but they don't put it on your record if you don't get another ticket for a year. If you do get a subsequent ticket within the one-year period, then you get dinged for the one that was deferred as well. I believe WA state law states that you can do deferred prosecution once every seven years.

 

[builder206]

If you did Cross Fit you could have accelerated so hard you would have red-shifted into the ultraviolet and passed the cop before the reflected radar signal got back to his receiver. His eyeballs would have fallen out in amazement, as if he'd gotten a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the nads. Let's see him testify in that condition.

[rob]

I was going to sign up for crossfit, but then I realized I can walk around carrying a ball over my head for free.

[max]

... red-shifted into the ultraviolet

 

 

Whereas sonar systems use a sequence of reflection times to calculate target velocity, radar systems actually use "red shift" to determine velocity. That is, the speeding object reflects a slightly different frequency than that of the emitter.

 

Techy-Geek session over.

[Dechristo]

I find every speeding ticket I receive to be challenging to my pocket book and to my desire for the freedom to speed.

[rob]

Case dismissed!

[sobo]

w00t w00t!!!1 Excellent work, rob! Wow, with your new job and the ticket wiped, your life is really turning around. Yay life!

[mkporwit]

Woohoo new job... now I understand the happy avatar and the "yay life" bit