and give u a ticket for running a red light (which your light was green and u and the cop are the only ones there) the u fight it and the cop does not show up to court do they remove it? does the cop who pulled u over have to show up to court also?
2006-09-02 17:40:18 · 18 answers · asked by investing1987 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Now I saw you asked in Mass on your previously question, so to assume you are in MA, there is first a magistrates hearing. There is always an Officer at the hearing, whether is be the departments traffic supervisor, or the cop themself, one will be there. The hearing decides wheter or not the ticket should stand from hearing both points of views, yours and the police departments. If the magistrate says yes you get a ticket, you can request a judges court hearing, pay $20 bucks and plea it to the judge.
This is where the Officer who wrote it will be there, and most likely they will be there because its overtime or gets them off the street for an hour or so, and if they are not, they can have rescheduled also if they are on vacation or something.
If they dont show up to the judges hearing, it will get thrown out, there is no evidence against you, just your testimony, you win.
And as for the camera's that someone else mentioned, they have to proove it was you driving, which can be hard, how do they know you didnt let someone borrow your car.
And a little suggestion, I would fight every ticket, most time you win, by getting sympathy from the judge, or atleast get the ticket fine knocked in half at worst. Some judges just do not like certain Officers, and have seen them in the past write "bad" tickets, and will agree with the person who got stopped.
We all know in MA its the surcharge on our insurance that hurts the most.
2006-09-02 17:54:18 · answer #1 · answered by CopinMA 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the cop does not show up you MUST move the court to dismiss for lack of prosecution and object for the record if he doesn't. Generally, magistrates will dismiss the case on their own but some won't and if you don't object, then you tacitly approve. I saw one judge ask the defendant if he had any objections to a new trial so the cop could be there and the guy said "no sir, of course not"!! I almost fell on the floor! If people only knew their RIGHTS!!
2006-09-03 00:49:08 · answer #2 · answered by Paladin 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer to your question is yes the police man or woman has to show up to court too. Don't forget, the courts are non biased and they have to listen to both sides of the story. Usually a judge or a magastrate will preside over the court. You can take any evidence with you pretaining to your case and present it to the court. Now if the police dose not show up for court, then the citation gets thrown out on the gorunds of a f.t.s (failure to show)
A citation in legal terms is basically a suponea to show up to court. If you fail to appear then an arrest warrent (or bench warrent) can and will be issued for your arrest. best thing to do is to show up and plead guilty, not guilty or no-contest. If you plead guilty: a fine will be set forth to you, usually in monotary funds to be paid to the court to be transfered to the said munisipality. A not guilty plead means that you are not guilty of the charges that you are being accused of and thus you would have to appear to a different court to plea your case to the judge. A no-contest plea means that you are not admitting guilt, but what you are really saying is that you are not really innocent of the charges brought forth to you, and there for the judge or magstrate will make the deciding ruleing.
Also, keep in mind that the police are not the courts, so they must appear in court with you so as he/she can tell the judge their side as well. I hope that this helps you
2006-09-03 02:44:02 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you choose to contest it in court and the cop does not show up, then the charge against you is dropped. However, many larger cities have started to use cameras to catch red light runners lately, and if you contest the charge in court from that then the photo will prove you guilty. In this case you will not only have to pay the fine, but also court costs.
2006-09-03 00:48:23 · answer #4 · answered by doncunn8 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was issued a traffic citation for an accident I was involved in. I went to court to fight the ticket. The officer who issued the ticket did not show up for my court hearing. The judge told me that it would have to be dismissed because he wasn't present. Hope this helps.
2006-09-03 00:44:37 · answer #5 · answered by armywifetp 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In CA, same thing. If you protest the ticket and the cop doesn't show up to court, the judge throws it out.
2006-09-03 00:46:38 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes the cop should be in court also to give his testimony. If he doesn't show, then the judge can make a decision to drop the charge. I have seen it happen.
2006-09-03 00:48:44 · answer #7 · answered by savvyd 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The State can ask the judge for a continuance. However when you do go to trial it will still be your word against the cops word. So how can the judge be fair by siding with one side or the other?
2006-09-03 00:50:12 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am no lawyer but I would say yes, because you have a right to confront your accuser. The only way they could get around this is possibly in a mayors court. If it goes there your probably screwed no matter what.
2006-09-03 00:44:44 · answer #9 · answered by cashcobra_99 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cops get paid double time for court appearances. I dont think they miss them 2 often.
2006-09-03 00:49:57 · answer #10 · answered by big-brother 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋