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Fighting a Traffic Ticket in Court - UPDATE: I WON!!!!!!!!!!!
danny_galaga:
--- Quote from: Jdurg on January 09, 2008, 01:21:19 pm ---
--- Quote from: tommy on January 09, 2008, 01:19:10 pm ---
--- Quote from: Samstag on January 09, 2008, 01:16:33 pm ---
--- Quote from: tommy on January 09, 2008, 01:08:35 pm ---There are times when a person is going the speed limit and just so happens to be in the "point of no return" area under the light and can be seen as breaking the law, when they really are not.
--- End quote ---
Right. I addressed those situations under "the light was malfunctioning" and "you weren't paying attention".
--- End quote ---
No, not malfunctioning and not paying attention, it does happen due to normal speed and light changes at random.
--- End quote ---
If you look at the photo I posted, the Bowling Alley is the big white thing. I made the left onto Kings Highway and the light was still green. When I got to the Stop Line that I indicated, the light turned yellow. When I was in the intersection, the light turned red. Stopping is impossible at that point unless I want to stop in the middle of Route 12.
--- End quote ---
i cant see the grassy knowl ???
danny_galaga:
--- Quote from: Jdurg on January 09, 2008, 03:17:09 pm ---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.
--- End quote ---
you facing a murder charge as well :o
Kremmit:
Hey, no joke about checking the yellow light timing. In recent years, a lot of municipalities have taken to shortening the duration of the yellow with the specific intent of increasing red light violations, and therefore revenue derived from tickets. This is especially common in intersections with red light cameras, which is not what you're up against, but still.
Get a stopwatch and measure the duration of the yellow. Then measure how long it takes to get through the intersection, assuming you approach the intersection going the speed limit, and then slow down to a safe & reasonable speed to make the turn you were making. If the yellow isn't giving you enough time from the point of no return to your exit from the intersection, then prove it to the judge- mathematically, and/or with a videotape. (Don't videotape yourself speeding, though, unless you want another ticket :D
Of course, this won't work if the yellow really is long enough... but it sounds like the cornerstone of your defense strategy is that it's not.. so prove it.
----
*edit- I wouldn't suggest that you accuse the city of shortening the yellow in order to make money, I wouldn't even imply it. The yellow's just not long enough, and that's that. Don't rub the judge's nose in the idea that the city he works for might not be 100% squeaky clean, that would make it harder for him to side with you.
patrickl:
--- Quote from: Kremmit on January 10, 2008, 01:59:13 am ---Get a stopwatch and measure the duration of the yellow. Then measure how long it takes to get through the intersection, assuming you approach the intersection going the speed limit, and then slow down to a safe & reasonable speed to make the turn you were making. If the yellow isn't giving you enough time from the point of no return to your exit from the intersection, then prove it to the judge- mathematically, and/or with a videotape. (Don't videotape yourself speeding, though, unless you want another ticket :D
--- End quote ---
That would work if he claimed that he was crossing the light just as it turned yellow. His claim is that he passed the light just as it went from yellow to red as stated in his first post:
--- Quote from: Jdurg on January 09, 2008, 07:21:57 am ---I was passing through an intersection when the light turned red as my car was directly underneath it. Thus, my front half of the car was inside the intersection and the back two wheels were behind the "line".
--- End quote ---
JDurg, I'm surprised how you misread the traffic light code.
--- Quote from: Jdurg on January 09, 2008, 11:13:07 am ---Yellow: Vehicular traffic facing a steady yellow signal is thereby warned that the related green movement is being terminated or that a red indication will be exhibited immediately thereafter, when vehicular traffic shall stop before entering the intersection unless so close to the intersection that a stop cannot be made in safety
--- End quote ---
You passed the trafficlight when the entire yellow period was over. Thus you were not close to the intersection when the yellow light came on that you could not stop. That would be when you are under green and the light just changes in front of you.
Basically you have to stop for a yellow light unless you really cannot stop safely. You ran through a yellow just going red and that's not allowed. So you get a fine. Pretty simple.
ChadTower:
--- Quote from: Ed_McCarron on January 09, 2008, 05:12:12 pm ---Heres the winner, if the cop doesn't have video.
"Before I prepared to stop, I checked my rear view mirror. I felt the vehicle behind me was too close for me to safely stop, and since the light was yellow I took the less dangerous option."
Odds are even if the cop was watching you, he wasn't looking behind you.
--- End quote ---
I'd be surprised if a judge didn't say "getting rearended is safer than a head on collision in the middle of a busy intersection. It is not up to you to alter traffic laws to suit your opinion - they were written with that situation in mind. I will now double your fine to amuse my bailiff. He is having a bad day."
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