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Fighting a Traffic Ticket in Court - UPDATE: I WON!!!!!!!!!!!
ahofle:
--- Quote from: ChadTower on January 09, 2008, 12:33:52 pm ---The only time I've ever fought a ticket the cop showed up on his day off. Turns out it was right in front of his damn house - the ticket was for 20 in a 15 on a barely used back road - and he doesn't like people driving through his little block at all. Stupid, stupid Rhode Island. Burned a vacation day and got the full fine and points on my license/insurance hit.
--- End quote ---
That cop should start driving 10MPH on his road to jam up traffic for miles and thus keep his road safer. ;D
ChadTower:
--- Quote from: ahofle on January 09, 2008, 03:02:55 pm ---That cop should start driving 10MPH on his road to jam up traffic for miles and thus keep his road safer. ;D
--- End quote ---
;D There's barely any traffic on that street, though. He'd be backing up big wheels and skateboards.
Jdurg:
I just spoke with a friend of mine who just got a law degree and she said a few simple things;
1): Don't make things up. Honesty, even if it won't support your case, is noted.
2): Learn the Law. Read through the statute you are accused of violating and break it down piece by piece. The Prosecution must prove that you violated all aspects of said statute in order for you to be found guilty. If one aspect of that statute is something not applicable to your infraction, you are Not Guilty.
3): Request the Police Officer's notes. By Law, the Police Officer must provide you with all notes relating to the incident prior to the court date. You must, however, make the official request. Bring a copy of this official request with you to court. If the Officer has not provided you with the notes you requested you can ask that the judge require the Officer to provide you with the notes before a certain date. If that date comes and goes and you still have not been sent the notes, you can legally request the case be dismissed. (Therefore, you must request the notes be sent via a trackable courier service so you can have evidence of its delivery or failure of).
4): Keep thing short and to the point. No "fluff" should be used to try and sway the judge.
5): For Stoplight/Stopsign violations, bring a detailed diagram of the area in which the incident took place denoting where you were and where the cop was when the "incident" happened. By having the officer's notes you'll be able to see what he will be stating and if he made no details as to his position and your position, your appearence with detailed diagrams will help your side of the argument.
6): Take photos of the area at that particular time of the night.
7): Show up wearing a suit and tie so that you will appear to show respect for the court.
8): Never look at the police officer unless he is talking to you directly. Always face the judge.
9): Look the judge in the eyes when responding and when listening.
10): ALWAYS address the court as "your honor".
Those were the 10 things that she said I really have to follow to have a chance with this. Of course, if the officer fails to show up for the trial then I win by default. She just said that it's critical to get a copy of the officers notes. They are required to write down every last detail of what happened that resulted in the traffic ticket. If you get a copy of his notes and see that he did not diagram out what happened or did something which would result in his view of your car being obscured, you'll have a greater chance of success. Even if you just request the notes of the officer, it will show that you have an intent to defend yourself to the fullest and will cause the officer to review his paperwork and notes relating to your case. In some cases the officer will review his notes and realize that he may not win the case and will just retract the ticket prior to trial.
So I have a bit of research to do to further back my case up, but my friend did say that I've probably got a 50/50 chance of the case being completely wiped away with a far more likely chance that the officer will suggest some other action not resulting in a ticket.
ChadTower:
Is it really worth all that effort? What are the penalties/insurance hit?
shardian:
I would think that unless you are in a tiny hillbilly town in which the sole income of the town is tickets, you would only get a warning for something like this. Either the cop was on his period, or you did something to piss him off.
I've only been caught with the yellow light thing once and I had the ultimate defense with me - a pissed off pregnant wife. ;D I ended up with a warning, an apology, AND a sympathetic nod. :laugh2:
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