cop pulled us over and gave us ticket for running a red light which we did not run?

Question

there were 4 of us total in the car. we got pulled over on thanksgiving weekend late at night when all the cops were out looking for troublemakers cop pulled us over saying we ran a red light, which we did not. 4 people in the car and we all KNOW my friend didn't run it. my friend's 33 and has a clean driving record. cops put her though all the sobriety tests which she passed, and left her with the ticket for over 200+ dollars. my friend pled not guilty in court so she has to come back again with witnesses. the cop will be there.

what do we need to do to make sure my friend doesn't have to pay the ticket or ruin her clean driving record?

i've heard to go to a bank and get an affidavit??? is this true?? what else can we do to ensure she won't have to pay for something that did not happen.

Answer 1

Go to the bank? Get an affidavit for what? Hate to say it, but chances are if the cop's there, she's going to wind up paying. They probably won't put a lot into your testimony in her behalf, because you're her friends, so of course you're going to say she didn't run the light. One ticket isn't going to kill her driving record. Maybe you all could give her a little contribution toward the ticket.

Answer 2

I think there is a good chance that the judge might just dismiss the case. If there were 3 others in the vehicle. I don't think you need to get anything in writing since appearing in court, you'll be under oath anyway when testifying. Unless they have a dashcam video of it, it would seem that it is their word against yours. The judge might just reduce the fine.

It might have been possible for the driver to have slowed down, more of a Yield than a Stop also called the Rolling Stop or California Stop.

When the police pulled you over, you probably had no idea what they were stopping you for. Once you found out the reason, everyone in the car could have only assumed the driver stopped when in reality, the driver didn't stop at all. Everyone in the car (including the driver), because they are all preoccupied talking about whatever, might have never even noticed that the driver did actually roll through.

The Police were focused, looking, concentrating on finding something wrong, so it is possible that it happened the way they said it did.

in any case, the most she will have to pay is the fine and your always better off taking it to court vs just paying the ticket. This way the driver can always plead her case that this is her first violation.

Answer 3

The problem here is it's your words against the cops, and a judge will believe a cop's words over yours, since it's the job of cops to report the truth. Unless you have eyewitnesses BEHIND your vehicle with VIDEOTAPED evidence, it is unlikely you can convince the judge that the cop made a mistake.

What your friend *should* do is state that he is simply not aware that he had ran a red light, and he apologizes if he had done so. Would the judge / commissioner please give him a break, don't put that in the record, and he won't mind paying a fine. He has a clean record, and blah blah blah. Do NOT try to question the cop, do NOT try to claim the cop made a mistake. You can't prove it, so don't even try. Go for the sympathy angle.

If you try to play cross-examination with the cop you'll come across as adversarial, not a good thing when you need the judge/commissioner's sympathy.

Answer 4

This will be your word against the cop's word in court. You may also wish to consider the fact that most police cars have a dashboard camera, which will probably be introduced as evidence if there is proof your friend did run the red light on the video. I believe that if your friend plead not guilty, she does not have to pay the fine until she is found guilty in court. Go to court as a witness and tell them what you saw, that is about all you can do. If your friend has a clean driving record, this offense will probably not significantly increase her insurance as it is a fairly minor traffic crime (maybe three points), so it will not be the end of the world if she is found guilty.

Answer 5

The witnesses need to have a credible and believable testimony as to why they knew exactly that she didn't run the light. Most passengers aren't paying attention and take the driver's word and then report it to the cop or judge. Now if one of the witnesses can say "We were commenting on how the wind was blowing the street lights and they were green (not yellow or red) and after passing through the intersection we were pulled over." without that specific testimony, just showing up and saying she didn't do it won't help.

Answer 6

This actually happened to me and a couple of friends and I won the case. I went to court with the witnesses that were in the car with me, and since it was 3 to 1 and swore under oath, I won. Nothing was ever put on my record, and I didn't have to pay any fines. Although I lost time from school, it was worth it because being able to look at the police officer that lost was priceless.

If you want, get suggestions from other police officers in the area. Even though it may be weird asking them, they usually are informative. (This is what I did by the way.)

Answer 7

Believe in the truth.
If needed, since you are arguing the validity of the ticket, and since you have a right to face your accuser, I would question how many times this "officer of the law" gave out tickets at that time of night and had someone argue in court that it was wrong.
Not compared to how many did not fight it, but compared to how many that did.
I would back up my question with facts that if you believe that you are innocent, you fight, compared to silent admission of guilt by paying the ticket.
I would also argue the concern about needing a field sobriety test if no alcohol was smelt, nor any other driving violation was issued that would warrant distracted or dangerous driving procedures.
Sounds like dirty politics, and I would pursue this diligently.
Good luck.

Answer 8

I would fight it if you have time. Sometimes you will get lucky and the cop won't even show up. Chances are that you will have to pay the ticket. However, if this cop is in the habit of issuing tickets for no reason, then how will anyone ever find out unless people fight their tickets?

If you don't have time - don't bother. You will end up wasting too much time and then have to pay anyway.

Answer 9

I'm sorry to say, but it will be your word against the cops word, and the judge will find your friend guilty. I've worked in law enforcement for about five years, and a cop would never pull anyone over unless they know that their actions can stand up in court.

Answer 10

Frankly, there's little you can do. Most judges will take a cop's word over the word of a defendant and her friends. I suggest just going and giving a polite testimony and seeing what occurs.