Anyone ever beat a ticket on their own?

[Treibenschnell]

...but I'm certain my presence in court swayed the judge and DA to drop the case instead of insisting on a new court date.

Perhaps... but I bet their laziness and not wanting to repeat the whole damned process is what most worked in your favor.

[TheChadVIII]

Haha, maybe I'll get the same lucky streak.

[POS Racing]

Hey TheChadVIII what's the fine on the ticket ya got??

[altiain]

Dude altain, I was just asking on what to do when I go into court.

I wasn't asking on whether to fight it or not.

And for what I make at my job is MUCH less than $200/3-4hrs.

Sorry if I came off as self-righteous man, didn't mean to.

Don’t worry about it. I actually came back to this thread intending to delete my post but you’ve already responded, so let me apologize for my tone in that post. Your choice to fight the ticket is exactly that – your choice. I wish you the best of luck, whatever your reasons for choosing to fight it.

On an unrelated note, I need a vacation…

[Treibenschnell]

I'd guess in the $180 area?

[Treibenschnell]

I actually came back to this thread intending to delete my post but you’ve already responded, so let me apologize for my tone...

Write down the date, fellas!!

[POS Racing]

so let me apologize for my tone in that post.…

Holy crap is this a sign of the Apocalypse!

[Majik]

Im hiding under my desk!

[Treibenschnell]

Im hiding under my desk!

Was the teacher already down there?

[miataspeedracer]

Perhaps... but I bet their laziness and not wanting to repeat the whole damned process is what most worked in your favor.

Actually, no. I'm pretty sure the City KNEW it had a very weak case. I made it abundantly clear while sitting in court that I was ready to fight my ticket all the way. While I was discussing my objection to a new court date with the judge, the citing officer and the DA were having quite the conversation just out of earshot. I think the DA knew it was a crappy case and actually asked the judge to dismiss the case.
So, luck or not, it worked out in my favor. YMMV...

Speed

[Treibenschnell]

Well, like I said...

(I was agreeing with you, for the most part...)

[POS Racing]

Well, like I said...

(I was agreeing with you, for the most part...)

I still can't get over Altiain's post!

This song makes me feel better!

[Treibenschnell]

Hehe...

Shocking!!

[black roadster]

It's called a speed tax. The municipality wants their money. Now fork it over. The only question is do you want it on your driving record? If not, either get Defrered Ajudication or Defensive Driving and plan on paying at least some of the ticket and/or court fees. Remember, this is all about city revenue. If you don't want to waste your time, hire a lawyer to do it for you.

Getting it dismissed entirely is a very rare thing indeed. Not impossible but not likely.

[jrj512]

It would be hard to beat a case in court without a lawyer. Ben Matlock made it look so easy, but it ain't. The lawyer from the DA would tear you up.

I would see about Defensive Driving. You get the ticket off your record, you will most likely learn (or be reminded of) something useful, and you will get a discount on your insurance.

[TheChadVIII]

Yea, I'm predicting that this will end up with a plea bargain of defensive driving or deferred.
But getting the fine reduced along with one of those options is certainly not unheard of.

[altiain]

I still can't get over Altiain's post!

This song makes me feel better!

That's my ring tone!

[Majik]

That's my ring tone!

I thought that was only for when your wife called.

[OzCop]

He got me with a moving radar, which usually has a spread of 280ft±50ft at 500ft.
I'm not actually sure if it was a speed trap and he was the chase car or if he was driving while taking the reading. I know the Plano police don't carry the Speedgun8 which is the only type of radar that can distinguish traffic direction (moving away or towards the radar) so he had to have been coming from the opposite direction. Moving radar is the least concrete of all the ways to measure another vehicles speed. So thats what gives me a little bit of confidence.
So if there was another officer that tagged the vehicle than the one that wrote the citation then they'd both have to appear in court. If either don't show then I'm free. But I doubt thats the case.

I'm also gonna try to get him to recall very specific details about it. Was my top down? Did he infact come to a skidding halt behind my car. Things like that can prove that he doesn't recall enough about the case to be a competent witness. I also know that I can object to the use of notes written on the back of the ticket due to the requirement for independent recollection.

This is kinda interesting!

Hmmm, this is the kind of attitude I loved when I was a street cop going to court. Unfortunately, most of this will only serve to hang yourself. Sure, if you have doubts that you were not in fact speeding, don't plead guilty. Cops all over the country have been challenged on these same issues for years, and those that know their stuff will kick your a## in court. First, every officer on that department who works radar has to be certified. This is not a simple one day school, or an instruction on how to turn it on and off. We had 20 hours of classroom and 20 hours of practical exercise, plus exercises in speed judgement, and a written test at the end of the class. Believe me, police officers are not rubber stamped when it comes to radar certification. Of the class of 20 that I was in, 6 did not pass and did not receive certification. Not only that, we had to go through mock court and give testimony regarding our charges, and how we justified the citation. In addition, we had to be able to judge the speed of a vehicle within 3 mph without the use of radar, only our power of observation, which was proven by radar reading. Sure, it's been 20 years since I went through certification, but I highly doubt there has been much change in the certification process other than the introduction of laser certification.
If in fact you decide to represent yourself, I would caution you to be very careful in your presentation, not accusatory, nor inflammatory towards the officer or the court, and state your case clearly. I've seen seasoned attorneys beaten by superior officer presentation, especially when the attorney and/or the defendant displayed an attitude. You may even want to present photos of the area, showing your location and the officer's location, and any obstruction that may have created a flaw in the radar reading... good luck...

[Adam Payrot]

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