NEED HELP!! need tips info on fighting speeding ticket
 

Whats up everyone. I got a speeding ticket today! DAMN! ok, well this is the situation. Im definatly gonna fight it cuz i know for a fact I wasnt speeding as fast as he said i was. This is what happened(this is in sounthern california. greater Los angeles area):

I was driving about 85-90 in the slow lane. I saw a cop car posted under the brindge. I got scared and slammed my brakes (STUPID ME!!!). I wasnt screetching but my car went nose down and what not. So, he pulled me over. He asked me how come i was going over 100. I said, "officer, not to oppose your acusations, however, im fairly confident that i was not going over 100, but rather around 85." I asked him for proof from like the radar or something because he said he caught me on radar. He wouldt show me anything(i heard somewhere that if u ask, theyll show u). so he marked me down as going 101mph. I was seriously not going that fast. I think why he got me was cuz i slammed my brakes so hard and made it appear as i was going fast(imagine if u saw a car in your rear view mirror slam their brakes).

So basically, thats what happened. Im gonna fight it in court. Anyone know any leveraging tips i can use against him or to my benefit? Do i have anything with him not showing me anything? should i use the I BROKE HARD THEREFORE... strategy? my brother was in the passanger seat(21), so can i use hi mas a witness?

Please please, I know this post is long, but i can loose my license for 6 months, im 17. And for all u haters out there that dont believe that i was going 85-90, i really was! if i knew i was in the wrong, i wouldnt fight it so much.

THANKS!

If you are in fact going to fight it....get a lawyer...YOU don't know the law....he does, if you get a good one, its his job.

there is a lot of truth to the old adage "a person who has himself for a lawyer, has a fool for a client"

ever seen a lawyer in court on some charge? THEY have a lawyer!

if nothing else....go and see one and get advise. you will be albe to find out the real story in your state/area for things like then having to show you the radar gun and that sort of thing....

good luck.

Re: NEED HELP!! need tips info on fighting speeding ticket
 

You just admitted you were speeding.

Port-a-Pig
 

That is the best name I have ever heard for the speeding machine.

PORT-A-PIG:)

Good luck on that speeding ticket. If we knew where cop lived we could make sure he doesn't come to court

Maybe we should pay dues maybe a dollar a month to use this site. Then have a lottery to pay speeding tickets of the club members. HA-HA we can call it the Port-A-Pig fund.

Re: Port-a-Pig
 

That's an excellent idea. Not only are you hit for speeding, but you're hit for breaking and entering, and assault and battery on a cop!

hey i got a ticket like 3 months ago, i was doing 95 when i was clocked, but for some reason the cop only said i was sdoing 85 (not that im complaining), so it was like a 146 dollar ticket for going 15 over the limit, any way the point of my story is that in some states, u can pleed no contest, which ur saying basically hey i was speeding, but my records perfect, this is my first time, ill pay the ticket, jsut dont give me any points or shit like that, they accpeted the plea and i payed the money and i have no points which makes rents very happy, anyway thats just a suggestion

thanks everyone for the ideas. I might get a lawyer, my mom has major hook ups cuz she has her own physicaly therapy buisness and so she knows a bunch. so i might get it for free since its pretty small. but on a different note:
reefruner5, i like your idea. Will it matter that ive gotten a ticket before? i took driving school so my record is clean. What do i say? just that i plea no contest?

thanks guys

CT does that. You plead nolle contendre (sp?)(no contest), and agree to pay the fine. They add no points to your license, and you go on your merry way. It still shows up on your record, and insurance compaines will see it if they pull your record, but, if your state is like CT, it saves you hell if you pick up a couple more tickets down the road, and fight them in court as well. So here are the two basic options you have, if your state is like CT:

1. Sign the ticket nolle, mail the money in, and be done with it. You get no points on your license, but you pay the full fine, and the ticket is still on your record for 2, 3, 5 years, depending on the state. Ususally if you rack up more tickets and do this, you end up going to some sort of driver retraining class, but do not get suspended (unless you go nuts). You pay $60 for the class, it's a one time 4 hour thing, but you could repeat it for more tickets.

2a. Sign the ticket not guilty, appear in court, and plea bargain with the prosecuter for a lesser fine (and sometimes infraction) and plead guilty to that when you appear. You get points on your record (which could lead to suspensions down the road if you get more tickets), insurance company still knows about it, but you pay a lesser fine.
2b. Sign the ticket not guilty, appear in court, refuse to plea bargain, plea not guilty again, go to an actual trial where the cop is there and you go through the whole process. You either end up getting the ticket completely dropped, or paying the full charge and court fees, ususally. You lose, the above happens. You win, you're paying lawyer's fees.

If oyu go to court, and pay at all, you get points. The more points you rack up, the worse you are in standing with the state. In CT, after 2 points (one per speeding ticket), you go to driver retraining ($60), after 3, you get a warning, or suspended outright. 4, 5, 6, etc is the same. You hit 10, you're fucked. Each suspension is ususally a $100 fine plus getting a new license ($63 in CT). So right now, you might think going to court would work, as long as you don't get caught for a long while again. But if you do, you end up getting wrapped up in a lot of crap.

IMHO, you're better off just paying the ticket. I've gone through both options above, and have saved myself a ton of money by paying the bigger fine rather than fighting for a lesser fine/no fine.

This is how it works in CT, though. Check in your state to see if it's the same.

that sounds good. btu the thing is, i have absolutly no problem with paying money for the fine. My biggest problem is that i can loose my license. I guess theres some rule in california that says if your under 18, and going over 100mph, you get it suspended for 6 months, or until your 18 or something. The bastard maked me as going 101. So thats what im trying to get out of. thats why i was gonna plea like i was going 85-90. get it? theres where my problem comes in. I dont mind paying money for the fine/ticket. I just cant loose my license.


Anyone know the real deal on the law in California?

dude ur in risk of losing ur liscnes, get a lawyer, u have no choice

I would check into things in Cali, but I know in Oregon for a speeding ticket to stand in court the officer must have some kind of proof. Whether the officer is required to show the print out to you on site or not I do not know, but there has to be evidence in court other wise it is just your word against his. At least that's how it works in Oregon. If you're not worried about paying the fines I would definatly take it to court, it couldn't really hurt. The only bad part about taking tickets to court is that the court fees really rack up so even if the ticket gets reduced a lot you're not really saving any money. But if you're only worried about getting a suspended license fight it to the end!!