Does Innocent until proven guilty apply to traffic laws??

Question

Doesn't seem like it does. You pay or you go to court. You go to court, who is the judge going to believe you or the police officer? That's a hard one isn't it(Sarcasm). It simply doesn't apply UNLESS you video tape EVERYTHING while driving.

What do you think?

Please, do not take this question as bad mouthing police. I have the utmost respect for officers and the job they do. I personally have never been pulled over, the only ticket I've ever gotten was for a car accident. This is just an observation I made of our wonderful legal system.

Where is fabricating a ticket coming from? I never mentioned a cop "fabricating" a ticket. What I am speaking of is extenuating circumstance. For example:

Ever been pulling a trailer going 45 - 50 down a road and you hit one of those quick lights that change in snap? Where it's run the yellow or risk ending up in the middle of the intersection anyway? Well in the wonderful state of FL, they just made a law that if your under the light when it's red, you just ran a red light. I'm speaking of those situations. Situations that are out of your control.

Answer 1

innocent until proven guilty is not applicable to any crime,it is actually the opposite. think about it. you are punished from the start

Answer 2

You can still request a trial by jury. You wind up waiting a lot longer to get a court date. You will probably have to show up for several preliminary hearinings where they will tell you to just plead guilty. And for every day added the court costs add up. But eventually you will get a chance to tell your side to a jury of your peers rather than a judge and you at least have a chance to prove your point. There are some places that deny you this right by defining traffic offences as civil cases rather than criminal ones. And some courts will make you pay court costs even if you win your case. Not every jurisdiction is the same. But be very careful in small towns. For some of them traffic tickets are the primary city income and they will hit you for every dollar you've got. The system is very corrupt in many places. Other places it is fair and honest. It just depends on where you are. If there were federal oversight from the Department of Justice perhaps there would be less corruption on the local level.

Answer 3

There are enough genuine offenders out there that a cop isn't going to risk his life and waste his time on a fabricated traffic stop.

Yes, I said "risk his life." Every time a cop pulls a driver over, he is straight up risking his life. There is no such thing as a routine traffic stop. He has no idea what weapon you're carrying or what harm you may pose. You might be a newly licensed bookworm high school senior, or you might be a 23-year-old gangbanger from MS-13.

If I had to choose between a crooked officer with a fabricated traffic stop or a driver who genuinely didn't notice he committed an infraction, I'd have to go with the latter. The odds would be with me.

If you want a break on a ticket, my advice is to have your paperwork ready (license, registration, proof of insurance), window rolled down and hands on the steering wheel where the officer can see them. If it's dark, turn your internal light on.

Don't argue. The most effective "argument" to make when you're pulled over is "I'm sorry sir/ma'am, I wasn't paying attention." The officer is so used to the whole I-pay-your-salary and go-catch-real-criminals rants that you may catch a break.

Understand that a break isn't always a warning. If he exercises the discretion to write you for a lesser offense, you got a break. I was on the hook recently for a possible $120 offense, and politeness got it knocked down to $40.

You might think the officer took $40 from me. I say he gave me $80 for not being a butt. I had a ticket coming.

Answer 4

I guess that "innocent until proven guilty" applies for traffic laws as it does for other laws. If the police catches you on radar and decide to give you a speeding ticket, then they will have the responsibility to prove that you did drive to fast. And if the judge don't give heed to the chain of evidence (or a lack of it), then he or she is simply not doing a very good job.

Of course it's important to look at the persons who are involved in the case, if they are reliable or not. And I guess this is where most of the misjudgements by the court occurs.

Answer 5

Actually, some traffic tickets are easy to fight and prevail, or at least get reduced to non-point citations. Driving a semi, I have had my share of traffic issues, and I have generally done very well when I chose to show up in court. Things like location or date errors on the ticket, the citing officer not showing up in court, and officer competence in operation of equipment are all reasons for charges to be thrown out or reduced. If you have a legitimate beef, by all means take it to the judge. You will quite possibly be pleasantly surprised. Good luck.

Answer 6

I think you would have a decent chance in traffic court. Sometimes the officer doesn't show up. Also, any technicality would cause the ticket to be tossed.

Answer 7

Yes, your signature on the ticket only means that you acknowledge the allegations and that you will show up for court. It does NOt mean you're guilty.

Answer 8

Difficult to prove.The court lean more on the police side in court.So, from the start you are already disadvantage.
But if i have money to spend and really believe i was right and not the police i would be willing to test it in court.

Answer 9

Listen, my job and career are NOT worth a mere citation...trust me, we're not going to fabricate a citation just because we want to write you one. For the most part, citations are expensive, and the traffic stop is a bit of an inconveniance, and uncomfortable too, and it gets frustrating when people judge "us" on the basis of some speeding ticket they received 2 weeks ago......It really is a sign of ignorance when folks "badmouth" us because of a simple traffic citation that they probably deserved...........