I was recently pulled over by a state police in what looks like his personal car with flashers in the grill. (A Mercedes Benz SUV) Anyway he seemed a little pissed off that I did not pull over right away because I was trying to verify with 911 if it was a real police officer. When he pulled me over he had a local on duty state trooper stop by. The trooper then gave him a ticket book and he wrote me three tickets. If anyone could help me out with some answers here I would appreciate it. Also if you can refer any lawyers in the Middlesex county area that can actually win this case I would appreciate it. (I'm not looking for a plea bargain lawyer I would rather fight it unless I am absolutley wrong.
2007-06-14 02:47:36 · 10 answers · asked by Marcus H 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
No way was it his personl car. Police use confiscated vehicles all of the time. That way they catch people all of the time who think there is no cop around. But even if he was in his own car and flashed his badge at you at a light or something he could still bust you.
But the fact that he had to use somebody elses ticket book says that he was doing something nontraffic patrol duty related. You didn't say what the tickets were for but to get three and that a cop took the time to bust you when he wasn't doing traffic says a lot. He could have even called you in and had another officer and had them pull you over instead.
So it sounds like he wasn't necessarily irritated because you took a few minutes to pull over but was pissed off already. Again to take the time to do a traffic stop without a ticket book......... you must have really done something obviously messed up.
As another said if you got 2 or three Moving violations (like things other than expired tags or no seatbelt) your insurance rates will go sky high and they may even drop you. Then you will have to pay hundreds of dollars getting the uninsured motorist thing. But then again it depends on your tickets.
The police do notify the insurance companies routinely.
Whatever the combination of tickets since you got 3 at once the judge is probably not going to be cutting you any slack.
So in the long run it might be worth spending money and hiring a lawyer. You really have nothing to lose by just going to see one and see what they say.
2007-06-14 06:09:16 · answer #1 · answered by jackson 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is no legal requirement for the officer to view the violation. This happens quite a bit with accidents, but in this case there was none. In this case, the officer wrote the citation on the information given by the other driver. Apparently, he found that person credible. I suspect he somehow knew this person from prior contacts. The officer will not be able to testify in court as to what the other motorist said, due to the hearsay rule you mentioned. The officer can, however, have the other motorist appear in court. At that point, it will be your word against the other motorist, and the court will decide. As far as why you were not offered to tell your side, I have no idea. I think it is a good practice to hear both sides.
2016-05-20 01:14:07 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You must have been driving like an idiot for an off duty officer to take the time to try to stop you. We are police officers 24/7 and can issue tickets any time we need to. Most of us enjoy our time off and don't want to do police work when we are not working (once again refer to first sentence).
Could be that this officer works in an undercover/plain clothes unit like drugs or gangs. They don't normally carry ticket books with them but may have police lights on their vehicles. Once again you must have done something pretty bad to get the attention of a detective/drug unit officer, because they tend not to worry about traffic offences.
Coppers around here (Canada) don't put police lights on their private vehicles.
2007-06-14 03:04:32 · answer #3 · answered by joeanonymous 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Did you commit any traffic violation? If you did, then you are guilty. It doesn't matter if the officer was off duty or not. The law is to be followed at all times..... Don't waste your money on a lawyer if you really did commit the violations you were cited for...... Take responsibility; accept your errors and move on.....
2007-06-14 02:52:37 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You were smart to verify that he was really a cop before pulling over. Right or wrong, hire a lawyer. In Jersey, three moving violations will add up to thousands in insurance premiums.
2007-06-14 02:59:37 · answer #5 · answered by the_meadowlander 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I drove an 18 wheeler for 20 years and New jersey is a communist state that focuses on how to steal from Americans. The laws that are in that state are utterly ridiculous and unheard of in America. I can't understand how that place is even considered a part of the USA. I refused to bring anything to that place because they wrote me a ticket for idling my truck in a snowstorm. I guess i was supposed to freeze to death.
2007-06-14 03:04:45 · answer #6 · answered by mikey 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Police use decoy cars all the time. If you broke the law, I'm glad they pulled you over before you killed yourself or someone else. Obey the law.
2007-06-14 02:55:23 · answer #7 · answered by notyou311 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Police Officers are on duty 24x7 and can act on an offense at any time.
2007-06-14 08:47:25 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your breaking the law, your breaking the law. It does not matter how he pulled you over.
2007-06-14 02:56:21 · answer #9 · answered by Today is the Day 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it was most likely a department car. no cops i know have Lights on their personal cars.
2007-06-14 04:05:38 · answer #10 · answered by Kevy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋