03-22-2004, 10:06 PM
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Confirmed User
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Elysian Fields
Posts: 3,624
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Quote:
Originally posted by synergysex
He isnt SOL at all.
Half of the time, the traffic cop dosent even show up and you win because the state failed to produce it's witness.
The court should dismiss the case on its own motion if this happens, but if they dont you need to make the motion yourself. Thats as simple as saying "Your honor, Defense moves for dismissal pursuant to (cite the section of your state's rules of civil procedure that require the cop to appear)".
ALWAYS fight a ticket, no matter what. Traffic tickets are all about money. Thats the only motive. They dont give a shit about saftey. If they did, they would correct all of those crazy 5 way intersections and straighten those goofy intersections on a curve and make them a 3 way.
If you just pay the ticket, not only will your insurance go up because you plead guilty when you paid it, but you have just given a monetary gift to the government.
The most expensive part of a ticket is NOT the fine or the court costs. Its the increase on your insurance rates. It is almost always cheaper in the long run to fight a ticket than to just pay it. In fact, I have had several judges
Court costs are a fixed amount in EVERY state set by law. In Indiana, they are $89.75 (if I remember correctly). Paying my ticket (the same one I wasted thier time for 4.5 hours over) would have cost me $130.00. The judge fined me $5 plus costs after I pitched him a sad song about just losing my job (they usually will reduce the fine for this - so be sure to take your kids to court with you if you have any) so I still paid less than if I would have just got out the checkbook.
At least if you take the ticket to court, the amount of cash from the fine that gets to the government is reduced because they have to pay the court reporter, the cop, the judge, the prosecutor and so on.
If you get a ticket, take it to court and the cop does show and you know FOR A FACT that you cant win, simply do your best to drag the trial out as long as you can. I suceeded in wasting four and a half hours of the court's time on a red light ticket case because the cop had me on camera running the light from his patrol car. I couldnt win, but I was determined to have fun wasting thier time while I was at it.
I have never seen a good website on this topic that dosent charge, but there are two very good books you should get.
The first one is called Beat the Cops by Alex Carroll (ISBN 0-9634641-1-6, $9.95 US)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0963464116/
The other one is Beat Your Ticket: Go to Court and Win by Atty. David W. Brown (ISBN 0-87337-950-0, $21.99)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg.../-/0873379500/
If you can only afford one, get the second one as it is far more in-depth. It is usually in stock at all Barnes & Noble stores.
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