Ever fight a ticket?
 

Anyone here ever fight a ticket from a cop where you knew you weren't guilty? Any luck?

Absolutely. I've done it plenty of times. I have won probably 70% of those. What were the circumstances?

yea, hope the cop doesn't show up.

In some places you can request it to be transfered to a different county which makes it even more likely that they won't show up.

yep, its totally possible. Heres a tip if you plan on fighting a ticket. Check the time on the ticket and try to determin what shift the cop works and set a court date that dosnt coinside with his shift. Might be a long shot but its worked for me and a few others.

I got a ticket at 4am once. I set the court time for 1:30pm (most of the time they give you a few choices). He didnt show up so i won :)

good luck

He claimed I ran a stop sign. The sign is actually not even at the corner of the street (it's about 10 yards before it and I stopped before the sign; not right at it).

From his view point, he could only see me when I was moving forward through the intersection and not where I was stopped. His car was a block away perpendicular to my car.

Court date already set on the ticket.

Fuck it. I'll probably just send payment in the mail. It's the fact that he couldn't even see where I stopped that pisses me off.

Should have just Blown the cop like I taught you:)

Take lots of pictures of the whole situation from lots of angles, including his point of view from exactly where he was when he saw you. Get a print out of the map of the intersection and note the positions and angles of where each picture has been taken from.

Like others have said, if he doesn't show up, you win. Personally, I would wait until about a week before the court date, then ask for a continuance. Then just before the next date get another continuance. This will now put the date a few months out, and his memory of the ticket will be much hazier. It will also make the chance of him showing up far less.

Prepare what you are going to say, and the pictures that you are going to present to the judge. The more notes that you have, about the weather at the time, etc, will be that much more impressive to the judge. Be sure to also have questions ready for the officer. (things that will confirm what he could, or could not see from his vantage point, for example). You will be allowed to question him after he gives his testimony.

My kid just got her first ticket. Bitch ass cop wrote her for 5 over. Must be getting desperate to make her quota.

...BTW, I was a reserve deputy sheriff with the Maricopa County S.O. for about a year and a half, so I have some insight into this.

Only fought one - a traffic ticket. I went without a lawyer. I lost.

Something about havin' a fool for a client.

No you can't (at least not in the State of California). At the time of issuance you can request it be heard at the County seat if it is closer to your home or place of business than where they were going to send you to appear.

Yes, I have at least a dozen tickets I have successfully defended against where the cop appeared.

I fought the law and the LAW WON:(

I have been waiting for my turn on the docket on a busy night and seen the judge throw out whole groups at a time. just to shorten the caseload...trust me it was cool

had a couple.. one i got off because the cop never showed..

But i had another one that pissed me the fuck off..

The ticket was for "failure to dim headlights", the truck didnt even have highbeams..

but the kicker was , just before i went up before the judge , the judge had some friends that wanted to get married so he asked me if it was allright if the people that wanted to get married quickly could go before me even though it wasn't their turn .. so im thinking " perfect , if a judge asks you for a favour right before your case they will likely let you off on a simple traffic ticket " . but no the fucker found me guilty and made me PAY court costs . WTF assholes.. i told the judge right there , if i get called for jury duty , im finding the person innocent regardless of the charge because thats what you just did to me . I gave him a good tongue lashing haha , halfway through what i had to say he cut me off and went on to the next case..

yes, take a lawyer . .

I fought a ticket once, damn thing gave me a paper cut then whooped my ass.

Since it is a moving violation, if you are found guilty you will get points on your license. Now, I know a way to not get those points but you will pay the fine. My buddy's mom is a judge, and this is what she has told me to do.
You have 2 options, say your guilty right off the bat, or say not guilty. In your case, i can assume you asked for a heiring? Go, plead your case, if they still say your guilty, whatever the fine is you oew, (lets say $150.00), write a check for $155.00 or get a money order for $155.00 (do not use cash). This way, they will have to issue you a refund check, and the case will NOT close until you cash that check. So never cash the check. They will reissue you a check (since they expire after 90 days), just never cash the check, and you wont get your points. I've done it and it works.

That only works for moving violations, or any violation you can get points on your license. Hope that helps.

PS: When i was super young, i blew a stop sign, said i was guilty bc i knew i blew it and i got 4 points on my license. Wish i knew the trick.

PSS: I know for a fact this works in Pennsylvania, not sure about any other state they might have different laws/rules.

I actually drove to where I stopped and looked to my left and there was no way I could see where he was parked. I then went over to were he parked and looked over to where I stopped, and without actually seeing my car there, it's hard to say if he could actually see me or not. I'll have to park my car and then walk over to where he was.

I'll be by that area soon anyways.

Ive fought before. I won 1 & lost the others, bitch is when you lose its well after the ticket was due so there are added court fees & late payment penalty etc.. if you fight it, make sure you win or it may not be worth it.. good luck!!

It's only a $75 ticket so I wouldn't do that. It's just the principle.

After making this thread, I thought about that. I guess the cop could always say that I'm lying and I'll lose right there. It's not one of things that I can fight by saying that eithere there was no stop sign or the sign was covered, etc.

Does anyone know how long you have to have a clean record to get a ticket dropped based on good driving record?

Most cities have traffic attorneys which will enter a plea and knock it down to a parking ticket. It costs about the same as paying for the ticket, but at least you won't have any points.

I did go to court once to fight a ticket, the cop didn't show so it was dismissed....lucky me.

Then I hate to say this hun, but in almost every state in the union, you ran the stop sign. You have to stop at the intersection. NOT the actual sign.

If you want to win, here is what you need to say, and say this exactly!!!

" Your Honour. On what ever date, at approx waht ever time, I was driving x vehicle, and approaced the intersection of X. I slowey moved to the intersection and made a full and comeplete stop. I looked in both directions before proceding. I did not see the officer in either direction, and I had a clear and unobstructed view of the intersection. the officer must have been sitting in a parking lot or side street area, and therefore could not have had a clear and unobstructed view.
Either way, I made a full and complete stop at the intersection of X and X"

I love being called hun. :1orglaugh :helpme

I'll try to get some pics this week and I'll post them, see what you think.

i fight every one. won every one - guilty on every one.

you usually win when you goto court on traffic stuff

I've beaten several, just goto court and tell some bullshit story, all you need is reasonable doubt.

I have once, I got one from some deputy because I parked in a wrong area when I was making a delivery with a client of mine. I was forced to park in a wrong area because there was no room left to park right.
Anyway I get a ticket and paid, the next week I needed to make another delivery, again no parking space so again I parked in a wrong place to make my delivery. Few days later a new ticket from the same ambitious deputy.
Ok I had it so I wrote a letter to the chief of police explaining my situation and that there was never a decent space to park when I had to deliver merchandise with my client. Cops knew that and I didn't have to pay for my new ticket and never got another ticket from them.

I believe the ticket stays on your record for 3 years.

Not sure if available where you live, but in CA, if you have not done so within the last 18 months you can go to traffic school (they have it online now) and after successful completion you will have it removed from your record.

If I do do it, I'll try to provide as much evidence. Thinking about it now, I'm thinking I don't have much regardless because it's one of those things where the cop can just say he saw me go through it even if I did stop.:2 cents:

The one time I had a legit case, I went to argue it and they just dropped it because I had a good driving record. Figures.

I have one speeding ticket which got dropped because of my good driving record (about 2-3 years ago). I wonder if that will be enough to make them not drop this one.:disgust

Yeah. But then I lose and add on the court fee, late fees, and two nights wasted. :winkwink:

you have a remote chance of them not showing up

I've never had one knowing I was in the right, but...

I was a contractor for Canada Post a few years ago and was on my way to one of my Northernly stops. My van was in the shop for a couple of days, so I had a loaner. After a while of going a consistent 15 km over the speedlimit, I was pulled over by a cop and given a ticket. I told him I was on cruise at 5 over, but he would have none of it as he clocked me at 22 km over. It would have been my first speeding ticket, so I was a little pissed, but was admittedly going too fast, so was just gonna eat it.

The next day, I altered my route a bit because of my stops that day. Well, about 25 km's away from where I was pulled over the day before, I was doing the same 15 km's over the speed limit. Well, who should pull me over, but the SAME cop. He looked at me and I looked at him and laughed and said, "Okay, there's NO way this time. It was LOCKED at 105."

He smiled and could see that I was telling the "Truth" so he let me go and told me to have the speedometer checked.

I paid the guy who's vehicle it was the $50 or whatever to have it tested and sure enough it was out 7 whole km. So, I took that piece of paper to the magistrate and informed her of the whole situation and she tore up the ticket-even though with the 7 km deducted, I was still 15 km over the limit. Saved me a couple hundred dollars and a couple license points, so it was well worth it.

Yeah, but that's hard evidence. I got pulled over for doing around 35 awhile back on a road that went from 35 to 25. (The cop said I was in the 25MPH zone when, in fact, the sign for the 25MPH was still a few hundred yards away.) That was the ticket that was immediately dropped in court because of my good driving record.

In NY the officer no longer has to show up. That old trick doesn't work here.

I usualy toss a couple hundred bucks to my lawyer and have him take care of it. Its worth it.

Do you get tickets that often where you need to do that?

I have been into several arguments involving a ticket, most of them last for about an hour, but I lost in all of them.

You so funny...actually I did have chuckle.:Oh crap :upsidedow

always fight them. Even if you don't win, they usually reduce the penalty for showing up. At least that's always been the case for me. It'll save you tons on insurance in the long run.

You can also show and hope the cop isn't there...if he isn't, then you win (although they don't always honor that situation...I've been reschedule before after showing up and taking a day off of work!). If he is there, you can request a jury trial BEFORE you make a plea...sometimes they'll throw it out to avoid the hassle, it'll give you a second chance for the cop not to show up, and at the very least give you a more simpathetic ear(s) for your story.

That's true, and now that you mention it, the magistrate did mention my good driving record as part of her decision.

However, in regards to the stop sign issue, as has been mentioned, definitely take a photograph of where the sign is, pictures of where you stopped etc.

I just tried to get SOMEONE to commit to saying that you're guilty until you prove yourself innocent in these cases, but not surprisingly, noone would. They all spewed the same BS that you're innocent until proven guilty. Fine. I even offered them an at BEST scenario, that it's a he said/she said situation and if there's no video or eyewitness proof, you should definitely be found not guilty. Noone would commit to that either.

When I asked what evidence the police would have (barring said video or eyewitness testimony) of something like your situation, they said THEIR NOTES! Uh, okay. So, like I said, it's their word against yours. Nothing more.

Gather as much "Evidence" as you can and when you show up, make your argument. If you have a good driving record already, if their whole case hinges on one officer's word against the word of a reputedly responsible driver, it should be a no-brainer in your favour (Or, contrary to what they say, you DO have to prove your innocence). The most substantial PROOF is your past driving record.

Of course, I'm not a lawyer.

Just fyi, the people I contacted were someone from Pointtts and a local magistrate. Neither of whom were willing to offer anything concrete.

No not really.

When I do get caught though I don't fuck around. I call my attorney and get it taken care of. I am not into the traffic court song and dance.

I have got out of 2 ticked, but I never actually showed up for court I just hired a lawyer they always seem to win.

I beat 3 moving violations in the past year using the following (this works in LA courts):

1. Immediatly get an extension online. That gives you 3 extra months.

2. When you do finally get a court date, plead not guilty. They will set up a new court date for the officer to come in.

3. If you can reschedule the court date.

4. Show up - hope he doesnt come in.

Perhaps I am just lucky - but I beat 3 tickets this way... :-)