Okay so my friend called me up about a speeding ticket. He admits that he was speeding but the officer also said he failed to yield when told to. But the thing was there was construction going on where he could've stopped so he couldn't have stopped there. He then drove on letting the officer follow him and stopped at the safest spot away from construction, but he was charged with a misdemeanor for not yielding. The officer didn't believe that he had trouble stopping and charged him for that. What can he do? He'll pay the fine and go to traffic school if he has to, but it's the misdemeanor charge that worries him. This is apparently his first ticket too.
2007-09-12 18:13:08 · 11 answers · asked by Up There 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
I forgot to mention, this was his first ticket in his 10 or so years driving.
2007-09-14 18:45:08 · update #1
I had a similar situation. The answer is that he should go to court and plead no contest, not guilty, or guilty, but "with a reasonable excuse". He does have access to a public defender.
In my case, I ran a red light at a school intersection. The light was yellow but did turn red because of my speed (I was not speeding, but the yellow light changed very fast). I plead guilty "with reasonable excuse" and explained to the judge that trying to stop at the intersection would have placed my car in the intersection, which would have been more dangerous than going though the then red light.
It was also my first ticket and I pleaded for mercy due to the logical nature of my decision. I was adjudicated not guilty, but did have to pay court costs. In your friends case, I would not pay the ticket but go to court and explain that he did not stop until he thought it was safe to do so and also ask for the mercy of the court, based upon the fact that it was not safe for the public to stop at the time the officer flagged him to do so.
In may traffic cases, one just pays the fine and that is a guilty plea, and it is all over. However points are added to the driving record. Statistics show that when one objects in court to a traffic violation, the judge considers that the plaintiff has taken his time to bring his contention before the judge to explain the situation and this in itself shows that there could be reasonable doubt as to being guilty or not. The judge will know that for some reason, your friend chose to present his case in court, instead of just paying the fine, has some compelling arguments or facts that are most probably important regarding the ticketing officer.
It does not matter what the ticketing officer "thought" why your friend did not stop and what the officer would say would be reasonable. It is the driver who made a good decision not to stop at this particular point on the roadway and the judge will make his decision based upon the testimony of the driver. In your case, it was the "intent" of the driver to continue until he thought it was safe to pull over. This will weigh very heavily upon the court and it is likely that the charge will be dismissed based upon the "preponderance of the evidence" and testimony of the plaintiff.
I advise your friend to state that he was not aware that he was speeding, but when he saw an officer signaling him to pull over, he did so at the next safe place to do so. He may want to ask for specific documentation that the officer has solid proof that he was speeding in the first place. He has the right to ask the court to provide calibration of his radar system from the last 30 days and the court does not want to go through all of that. After all, this is not a serious crime.
Preponderance of evidence is used when only a judge is involved. "Beyond the shadow of doubt" is for jury trials. In my view, if your friend contests the charges and shows up for a court hearing, which is short, I surmise a competent judge will dismiss this case if your friend can convince the judge that he was doing what he thought was in the "Best interest of public safety". He was not trying to outrun the officer and pulled over at the first convenient position, in his opinion.
At the last resort, your friend and or his appointed attorney can ask for a continuance while the calibration tests are done on the officers radar. This, in most likelihood would compel the judge to dismiss the case due to a waste of time and show that the plaintiff is determined to be found innocent.
As a very last resort, your friend can change his plea to not guilty if he hasn't already, which means it would go to a jury trial; something the judge does not want because he knows that such a jury might vote in favor of the plaintiff, because they have been in similar circumstances and would find him not guilty because of their personal experiences with police.
In response to another post, it is NOT the responsibly of a person to stop immediately when police lights go on. It is the objectivity of the driver to decide if the place to pull over is safe for them and others. If you are in an area where you are either scared or think it is dangerous, you are not required to stop until you perceive that the conditions are safe.
2007-09-12 18:56:35 · answer #1 · answered by Boomer 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
His best choice is to just go to court & talk to the district or prosecuting attorney. He can probably get the speeding ticket dropped off his record with nothing more than paying the fine & either attending driving school or court supervision (in some states) to where if he don't get any more tickets in a certain period of time, its not put on his record. As far as the evading goes, his best choice is to just go to court & say that he couldn't safely pull over immediately do to road construction and that he did immediately pull over as soon as he felt it was safe for himself & the officer. If he puts it that way, it will make it sound like he was looking out for the officers safety as well, which the court will look kindly upon usually and in return drop the charge.
2007-09-12 18:32:41 · answer #2 · answered by bikerlbf406 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think most of the people who have answered this are correct as far as hiring an attorney, and having him/her work with the prosecutor to arrange some type of plea. What hasn't been addressed, however, is that your friend doesn't get to decide where the "safest" place to pull over is. The officer does. When the officer activated the lights on the patrol vehicle he had determined that the next 100 yards of roadway would be a safe area for the traffic stop to occur. Even if the officer's judgement was flawed your friend does not have the right to second guess him on this issue.
Not stopping immediately when signaled to do so is a crime for a very important reason. Your friend could have been eating his bag of dope, or hiding his crack rock under the seat during the time that he says he was looking for a "safe" place to pull over. I'm obviously assume that your friend was not doing any of the above... but that is probably why the officer took the issue so seriously, and charged him with the crime. It is important to remember that you are required to pull to the side of the roadway, and stop IMMEDIATELY when ordered to do so by a police officer.
2007-09-12 18:46:13 · answer #3 · answered by robertcroach@sbcglobal.net 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
If he goes in and talks to the states attorney and explains what happened and tell him he is willing to plead out on the speeding they will drop the other most likley.
I would get proof there was road construction like pictures or confirmation from the highway department
2007-09-12 18:18:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i've got self assurance that when you bypass as much as the windo you're arrested which interprets to detained yet the two hundred funds serves as bail and enables you to repay your speeding value tag or reschedule a court docket visual charm, yet; purely because of the fact they don'y slap handcuffs on you and haul you off to the lock up does no longer propose which you haven't any longer been arrested. in the event that they study you your rights and inform you that this is barely a bail association and that failure to look in court docket will bring about you being put in reformatory next time, it somewhat is being arrested no count in case you bypass to reformatory or no longer. You extra suitable do exactly as they say. of course, speaking to a criminal professional first would help purely in case you probably did the rest it somewhat is incorrect.
2016-10-04 11:55:13 · answer #5 · answered by beliveau 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even a misdemeanor is beyond the do it yourself ability of most people. He should contact an attorney that specializes in traffic cases.
2007-09-12 18:17:21 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
go to the prosecuting attorney and set up a meeting with him her and the cop, if your telling the whole truth it should be dropped
2007-09-19 23:57:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to court and explain it to the judge. That's why a court date is written on the ticket.
2007-09-12 21:39:18 · answer #8 · answered by Todd S 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
If it's not too late, take photo's of the stretch in question. Measurements if pos.
2007-09-20 13:00:21 · answer #9 · answered by andyman 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Get a lawyer...he can beat this charge.
2007-09-12 18:17:29 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋