Who here has beat a traffic ticket in court? how?

Question

Specifically I got a ticket for turning right on red without coming to a complete stop... what arguments should I use? My written declaration, wherein I claimed complete innocence, got denied today... so i need to know what to say in court

Answer 1

It really depends on what the ticket is for. Always remember they have the burden of PROVING you guilty! If they have no actual proof you could win without ever saying a word.
Also, if you do tell your side of the story, you need to be confident in your self. Don’t ever say, "I think...” "I don't know...” or anything like that and absolutely do not admit that you did anything wrong at all! You need to be able to tell the judge (or city attorney during plea bargain negotiations) precisely what happened and why it was not your fault without showing any doubt about weather you are right on the matter. Keep calm and soft spoken like as if you were doing a job interview. Take it seriously but not emotionally, almost like you don't really care what the outcome is.
Lastly remember the courts don't want to spend a lot of time trying to convict you just to get a couple hundred dollars in fines from you. When you go for your first appearance, plea not guilty. They will probably have you talk to the city attorney who will offer you a deal, most likely for half the fine and demerits that the original ticket was written for (if it's good enough for you go ahead and take it) if you turn it down they'll schedule you for a trial date. There should be time for you to meet with the city attorney again before you actually go into the courtroom (this is when you can make the best deal) what you should shoot for is a non-moving violation (no demerits, they will increase your insurance premiums) and less than a hundred dollar fine.
If your violation happens to be DUI... there is no substitute for getting an attorney so keep your mouth shut until you talk with one. On offenses that they might consider jailing you for, the court will provide you with a public defender if you can't afford an attorney.
Just so you know a couple of years ago I had an accident that resulted in 10 demerits and over a thousand dollars in fines. I plea bargained it down to ZERO demerits and paid only a $100 fine. Let me know how it works out for you.

Answer 2

At your first appearance, plead not guilty and ask for a trial. Then, come back in a month or so for the trial. Usually, the police officer isn't going to come in on his day off or in the middle of his sleep to testify against you for a minor traffic infraction unless 1) you were a major *** during your initial traffic stop, 2) the cop is just a hard *** stickler, or 3) he just happened to be in court for something else. If the officer doesn't show up, they will have to dismiss the ticket. Sometimes, they will try to get you to plead to a lesser charge like "basic speed" which is not counted as a moving violation. Don't accept the plea. I have fought several tickets this way and the officers just don't show up. I have always thought that if the officer did appear and it went to the trial, I would just say that after lengthy consideration, I might have been incorrect and that it was possible that I could have been speeding after all. Then, if you did end up having to pay the fine, you still had like 2 months to get all the money together or at least plead with the judge for a payment schedule if you were really hard up for cash.

Answer 3

My dad got a ticket for driving twenty miles per hour over the speed limit in a sixty-five zone (don't ask), and managed to get away with a fine of a few hundred, but no insurance penalty. Depending on the jurisdiction where you got the ticket, as well as the jurisdiction where you live, your insurance company may raise your rate if you get points (as you probably know). So, the main purpose in court is to manage to get no points.

Your best bet is probably to hire a lawyer, appear in court, and get a plea bargain with a larger fine, but no points and no insurance penalty. I think my dad had the option of cutting the four points to either two points or no points, with an increasing amount of immediate fine. He took the no points option, as the overall amount he would spend over several years was much lower than the amount of the fine.

Answer 4

Not grounds for dismissal. If your son repairs the mail box and makes peace with the owner, retains receipts for property being repaired, etc, the clerk will probably let the fine go. He will remember your son if he does it again in a short amount of time. The ticket being 'fixed' should be brought up with the officer's superiors at the police station. If it happens to enough people he will be re assigned/disciplined. If they keep him on the beat, your son will get a ticket for spitting out the window. good luck

Answer 5

The way I did was to keep asking for extensions until they were no longer available, then call the court and ask for a "trial by declaration". That is a written statement that has to be filled out by you and by the officer who wrote the citation. You normally have to pay the bail amount at the same time you file your declaration. "Usually", the officer does not want to take the time to fill out the form stating the complete facts that led him to issue you a citation, figuring that his time is worth more than the fifteen minutes it takes to fill it out. If he returns nothing to the court, you are off scott free.

Answer 6

Did you come to a complete stop at the red light prior to making a turn. Red lights and stop signs are not a suggestion to stop they are a demand. Where as a yield sign is a suggestion. If you did not come to a full and complete stop, then I suggest you be honest with the judge or magistrate, as it is entirely possible that your actions were cought on video, and therefore you will be called a liar in court a.k.a. purgery which is a criminal charge in it's own right.

Answer 7

I have! I was driving like 10 miles over in a school zone while it was supposed to be blinking, and the cop pulled me over and gave me a horrible ticket thinking the light was still blinking, and come to notice the stupid cop wrote the ticket like a few minutes after it had stopped blinking and never realized it until i turned it in to court and got it canceled! awesome!

Answer 8

I once had a ticket for not having insurance. When I got to court, the guy who hit me was there too. When we showed the judge that I didn't own the vehicle on my ticket (the one that had hit me) he tossed out both our cases.

Answer 9

all you do is show up in court, most of the times the police man or woman show up in court, then they usually let's you go for free traffic ticket or speeding.