Is a ticket valid when the date of the ticket does not exist?

Question

The following information on the ticket is wrong:
The date April 31, 2007 does not exist and that is the date of the ticket that was issued.
The make of the car is wrong--ticket states that it is a 1997 Ford Tracer. The Tracer is a Mercury.
The color of the car is Gold but the ticket information is hard to read. It looks like Gas.
The officer states that the weather conditions were clear but it was cloudy.
The officer crossed out the month for date of the appearance without initialing the crossed out date and entered the correct date.

The violation was issued in state Georgia by a Lieutenant who is supposed to be in charge of the Traffic Division for the Houston County Sheriff's Department. The ticket was signed by both of us and the discrepancies were discovered after I got home.

Answer 1

One thing at a time:

<>

That's in the FUTURE! What day was it REALLY issued on?

<>

Close enough for government work, as my old teacher said. As long as he got your plate correct...

<>

It's fine. I have a Ford nearly same as your color (Champagne, officially). Most people just call it "tan". :D

<>

Close enough. As long as it's not raining in the dark of night, minor variation in description won't get you off the ticket.

<>

Different locality have different requirements. If he had verbally informed you to appear within X days he has done his job.

As of now, this really depends on the judge / commissioner you run into, should you choose to protest this. A pro-police guy will admonish the LT to pay attention when writing tickets, and give you a reduced fine, but won't dismiss it altogether. A pro-driver guy will dismiss the case.

See ticket urban legends #4 regarding your question:
http://www.speedingticketcentral.com/speeding-ticket-urban-legends.html

Answer 2

They will not make one small difference in court, at the worst the judge will merley tell him to write you a new one ( remember the ticket is only a citation of appearance)
And anytime within the statue of limitation of the offense, a new ticket or a change in the charges can be made.

So the officer is sloppy, try writing a ticket while trying to watch you in the car to make sure you don't get out with a gun and shoot him, while watching all the other traffic , while listening to the police radios and at the same time looking at your insurance card and drivers license.

Judges will not care that there were minor ( very minor) problems on the ticket.

Answer 3

The date may be a typo but it is a recognizable date that was prior to the court date and that is really the only part that matters

Ford owns the Mercury corporation - I used to drive a Geo Tracker but my registration said Chevy Tracker...Chevy owned Geo.

The color of the car is irrelevant as long as the tag number is correct.

Clear means there were no impairments to visibility.

typos and 'bureaucratic' arguments won't hold water in court as long as the violation and the vehicle identification (the tag) is clear.

Being pedantic about the ticket won't get you off. They don't care. If you show up in court and offer a honest explanation about why you got the ticket then they may let you off for a fine or court costs.

Answer 4

Yes, the ticket is valid. No one is perfect, including the Police. These are common mistakes. I'm sure all the information pertaining to you, and the violation is correct. If these errors are brought up in court, they will be amended (corrected), on the spot. This will have no bearing on the case.

Answer 5

Take the ticket to court and the judge will probably throw it out.

There is a Houston Co. in Georgia but it is pronounced "House-ton" instead of "hughes-ton" like we pronounce it in Texas

Answer 6

Yes. Policemen and women are allowed to make mistakes, as long as they don't materially affect the integrity of the case.
-

Answer 7

It's STILL valid.

Quit nitpicking.

Pay the ticket.

Answer 8

Oh, man up you little baby and pay the ticket already!