I first saw I could not cross the intersection and clear it so I stopped. Then the cars ahead began to move up and I tried to cross thru the intersection, but the traffic stopped and I could not clear the intersection. Traffic was heavy that day and the cop was sitting there I guess waiting for someone to make a mistake at this confusing intersection. I am guilty, but I did not realize the traffic was going to stop again. The ticket is $120.00.!!! I am also worried about the insurance going up. Only my second ticket. First one 12 years ago. Do I plead guilty and ask for a lower fine??? Just wanting some info from someone who has been to traffic court.
2006-11-25 11:14:30 · 10 answers · asked by Sunny22 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Plead innocent.
You never plead guilty to anything. Otherwise, you have absolutely no defense.
It sounds like you were already in the intersection when you stopped, and attempted to continue crossing to clear the intersection, and the traffic stopped again, preventing you from moving.
The judge may find in your favor. By pleading guilty, you have no chance. By pleading innocent, you at least have a chance. He may be in a good mood. But you never, never plead guilty. At least you will be trying, and maybe you will come out on top. Judge may even dismiss it due to extenuating traffic conditions.
You will not know unless you try. The worse that can happen is you end up having to pay the fine, which you would have had to pay anyway by pleading guilty. Never heard of asking for a reduced fine, unless you have an attorney advising it.
Good luck, (your virtual attorney),
Darryl S.
2006-11-25 11:27:11 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have to wait until there is enough room on the other side of the intersection for your car before you move. In heavy traffic there is an expectation that the traffic will stop and you can't use that as an excuse. I've been going to high priority calls where someone's safety was at risk and I have been stopped by someone sitting in the middle of the intersection because they weren't patient enough to wait for enough space up ahead. I don't see how you could fight this. But you could plead guilty and ask for a lower fine if you can't afford the 120.
2006-11-25 11:22:04 · answer #2 · answered by joeanonymous 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a friend who just went to court for something similar. He (with continued success) went to court and asked the judge to "withhold adjudication" - meaning that you are admitting guilt however will pay all fines and court costs. The result of this is that the citation will not receive any points which may increase your insurance. You may also want to contact a lawyer about this - it's worth the cost in the long run.
2006-11-25 11:20:17 · answer #3 · answered by fla_dan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can plead No Contest... which is like saying " Im not guilty, but there is nothing i can do about it b/c court sucx"
Or if you are brave you could plead innocent, have a trial and try to explain..
Either way, most judges are hard up and think they are Gods when they are nobody but grown up school nerds.
2006-11-25 11:17:36 · answer #4 · answered by mamiworkn 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
from my experiences, everyone that I see plead no contest gets hit with max fines.
i saw a guy get up there once & say "look, i did it, i'm guilty", and the court cut his fines in half. I think the point was, "thanx for not wasting our time, thanx for not making the cop look bad, thanx for admitting guilt, thanx for allowing us to move on and rake in some more cash"
something that works for me about 8 times out of 10 is to file a continuance on the court date. The date on your current ticket is an ideal date for the officer to arrive. When a continuance is requested they pull a date out of a hat. Like I said, 8 out of 10 times, the cop just won't show up, and you rule for dismissal.
(I heard of some people actually calling the police station and finding the day off of the cop, and then get the case scheduled on that day...I've never done that...anyway if s/he shows you get the satisfaction of pulling them on their day off...I think in some areas they get double pay which for me is cool because I want to weaken the traffic ticket system & pull more $$$ out of it)
FINALLY, investigate the law you broke. Go to the library & find the law. Find the one factor that screwy. For example in California they threw out hundred of red light tickets because a guy found out that the yellow wasn't staying on long enough according to law.
another guy got a stop sign ticket thrown out because it was at the wrong height according to law.
2006-11-28 15:41:37 · answer #5 · answered by Ted Jordan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tell the judge the truth and you may get a warning
do not plead guilty
2006-11-25 11:18:38 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
- I blocked the intersection on eco-friendly, and wiped sparkling the intersection as quickly because of the fact the mild became to yellow (because of the fact the autos in front of me moved then). Do you think of this is a good argument to strengthen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~... you could no longer block an intersection no be counted what the colour of the mild is. you ought to attend till there is sufficient area so which you could make it thoroughly throughout the time of the intersection till now proceeding - regardless of if the mild continues to be eco-friendly or no longer. you have no longer have been given any way of understanding how long it is going to take for the site visitors previous to you to flow - for this reason you're required via regulation to attend. additionally, if emergency site visitors (police/fireplace) have been coming in the alternative direction...you would be obstructing their direction pondering they do no longer ought to watch for his or her mild to instruct eco-friendly. It would not sound such as you have grounds for dismissal based on the documents you have presented.
2016-10-17 13:17:42 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a pretty lousy cop to give a ticket like that......
cheap play if you ask me.....
I would tell it like it happened.
I was in the intersection when light changed. traffic stopped-i could not moved.
officer ticketed me----.. what could I do???
Ask judge for prayer of judgment continued......
no fine--no charge...
not a moving violation your ticket...
insurance should not even be aware.
2006-11-25 11:22:45 · answer #8 · answered by cork 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
say you are guilty and just go to traffic court it will not make your insurance go up dont worry about it
2006-11-25 11:36:52 · answer #9 · answered by Coconuts 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
plead not guilty. hey you didn't know
2006-11-25 11:45:27 · answer #10 · answered by ????? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋