I got pulled over by a cop that at first was just sitting on the side of the road with his lights on, but yet had no one pulled over, he did a u-turn and got behind me when I was stopped at the light, followed me, so close to my rear that I could not even see his headlights and neither could my passenger, then when I got a stop sign and proceeded with my turn, he flipped on his lights, he asked me where I was going, ran my ID as well as the passengers and couldn't find anything, I don't have any points against me or anything like that, so since he couldn't find anything to get me on, he wanted to be a prick and wrote me a ticket for my license plate light being out, a .56 cent fix and he wrote me a $150 ticket. Should I fight in court that I feel a warning would of been more appropriate for this matter??
2007-09-06 01:21:11 · 18 answers · asked by Goodnewz 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
sounds like the cop was a jerk, but nevertheless i would pay the fine, your license light WAS out, cops are given time off to make their court appearances, and are starting to get written up if they blow off an appearance, if you fight the ticket you run the risk of adding more fees. some court systems including mine charge court costs to go in front of the judge (about an extra $50). when you appear in court you have to plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest. there is no room for guilty, but i have an explanation. unfortunately you were guilty, so he won't even hear you out he will just send you to the clerk to pay you new fine of $200 instead of 150. OR you can hire an atty to fight this, but that will cost you at least $500 for atty appearance.
sorry pay the fine, and report him to his supervisors for bad behavior (that's free)
2007-09-06 01:34:23 · answer #1 · answered by yvicks 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Sounds likes some cops I've dealt with. I would either pay the fine and write a complaint about the officer..basically stating exactly what you did here but NOT calling him a prick. OR I would fix the light and go the police station and show proof that it's fixed and ask for the ticket to be dismissed again explaining that you feel a 56 cent fix should be warned first. (in some states once you show you have fixed the problem in a timely manner the ticket is dismissed)
OR you could fight this in a court with your passenger being a witness. This could do more harm than good though. Financially and the cops may be more apt to watching you afterwords because you've "questioned" their authority.
Good luck either way.
2007-09-06 08:32:19 · answer #2 · answered by okiemom67 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I warning definitly should have been issued first. He was following close to get a look at the lisence plate. I'm betting that you were traveling at night and he couldn't see the letters and numbers without the light. Also, sometimes when we get a cop behind us we automatically start driving funny even if we don't consciously know that so that helps make us look like we are trying to hide something. That is why they checked both lisences. Also, if your car was even remotely suspicous looking they would run the check just to make sure. And if you were a teenager, they would run the check because they want to make sure there isn't any 'crime' backup on any reports back at headquarters on either of you. That is just customary. It would cost you more to get a lawyer and pay the court fees than to just pay the ticket but for peace of mind, call a lawyer that gives one free phone consultation and tell him what you just wrote and get his opinion. Years ago I was given a speeding ticket when I wasn't even speeding. In fact, I was doing the correct speed for a Boulevard Street in Virginia. The catcher was that school was going to start for the new year on the following week so the school was open for business to see the students that day so that they could meet their teachers and get schedules. There was NO signs stating that school was in session where I was on the street. About a block ahead of me was where the first sign was and I hadn't even gotten that far yet. The cop came to my car and took my lisence. He never said a word other than to ask me for my lisence when he took it. He went to his car and wrote a ticket and came back with it. When he handed it to me, since I had never had a ticket, I asked him what it was and he said a speeding ticket. I said I was going the speed which was 35 and he said the speed today is only 25 because the school is open. I asked where the signs were and he said up ahead. When I called him on that he said, sorry I already wrote the ticket and can't retract it. I was definitely in the right. I later learned that Cops in Virginia are on a quota and have to give so many tickets before the month's end on every month. He was short and needed to catch up so he was vying for anything he could pull to get them. The lawyer we called about it said it would cost me more to fight it than to pay it and in a few years it would be dropped from my lisence so I just paid it. I figured that somewhere in time, that cop would get his just deserts for wronging me and we have since then left that state. Hope that helps you decide.
2007-09-06 08:44:01 · answer #3 · answered by 'Sunnyside Up' 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I say fight it 100% express that before you were pulled over you felt he was bullying you and making you very uncomfortable while driving.
Depending on what you told the police officer I would say in court that you check your car including the lights twice a week and that the plate light being out must have been a resent occurrence
Most times cops don't even shop up for traffic court and the case if thrown out
2007-09-06 08:30:50 · answer #4 · answered by danny a 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Plead not guilty and go to court. Most officers 99.9% of them will pull you aside before your hearing and talk to you about the ticket. He might just say to you get the light fixed ASAP and well throw the ticket out. Well you should make sure its fixed before you go to court.
So when you go in front of the judge the police officer will tell the jjudge that hes dropped the ticket because you went out and fixed your light.
This is uaully what happens. I would go ahead and plead not guilty
2007-09-06 08:33:23 · answer #5 · answered by JustWondering 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Bummer....You can fight it but you will lose because your light was out. If you do go to court one of three things can happen so it's worth going.
1. You pay full price for the ticket.
2. They reduce the fine due to circumstances and a leinent judge.
3. The cop doesn't show up in court and the ticket gets dismissed and you pay nothing.
2007-09-06 08:27:39 · answer #6 · answered by tamarack58 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Show up and be prepared to lose. Have your witnesses to the cops questionable behavior with you. The judge may read him the riot act for acting like such a fool and throw the whole thing out.
Or you may have to pay the ticket because your light was actually out.
And ceaser is wrong. The cop not showing is not an automatic win. Its up to the judge.
2007-09-06 08:30:43 · answer #7 · answered by Muley Bob 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
If your description of the scenario is the total story, then I definitely recommend that you fight the ticket. A tag-light fine of $150.00 is absolutely rediculous. Good Luck!
2007-09-06 09:51:40 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fix the light, get a recipt, go to the police station and see if it was a 'fix it' ticket, or just a general citation.
2007-09-06 11:09:13 · answer #9 · answered by Kevy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take the vehicle to a mechanic, have them fix the light and get a reciept. Take the reciept with you on your court date showing that you fixed it.
No need for a lawyer, would be money wasted.
The ticket "should" go away in most states.
2007-09-06 08:34:17 · answer #10 · answered by Bauran 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋