I was drivign at 3am at night across a long desloate road and there is this town called taft in California, and i was driving up to the stop sign and stop about a car lengh behind the stop sign because there is a gas station on the corner i was debating weither to go get food or not, i sat for about 20 seconds and then deciced to not get anything and continued on my way, a cop pulled me over imeduatly and said i ran the stop sign and didnt listen to me that i stoped behind the line a little bit to see if the gas station was open. so tomarrow i have to go to court and plede guilty not guilty and the judge will give me a deal like half the price of the ticket if i plede guilty, but i didnt do it and if i choose to fight it i wont get the deal but i get a chance to prove i didnt do it, but in the end it will be my word vs. the cops...where is the justice in that? what should i do. i cant afford the ticket and i didnt do anything wrong. please give some advice.
2007-10-28 20:06:36 · 9 answers · asked by Ikemike 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You didn't stop at the designated spot. That's all the Judge is going to ask you.
2007-10-28 20:56:27 · answer #1 · answered by CGIV76 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, but I think you lose. You are required to stop AT the limit line, not a car length behind it. If stopping a car length behind were OK, then if there were two cars stopped, one behind the other, the second could go through without stopping again. That is not permitted. It may be a tickey-tack ticket, and maybe the hearing officer will cut you a break, but on the facts you present you committed the offense.
BTW, although I imagine you know this, you cannot get a jury trial on a traffic infraction, and asking for one will only make you look foolish.
2007-11-01 17:41:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
It depends on how far the gas station is from the stop sign. If you stopped within 3-5 feet of the line, you should be fine. If you stopped any further back than that, you should legally have stopped again.
2007-10-29 04:39:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go in a plead not guilty, and tell them you want a trial by jury. They will then give you a small bond to post. Do this. Then the attorney at the court will plea bargain with you and you will have a much lesser charge. The courts don't want to take the time or the money to get a jury for a small case such as yours. You will walk away paying almost nothing.
2007-10-29 04:06:06 · answer #4 · answered by Dakota Lynn Takes Gun 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I would say take the plea and pay half. But if you cant just tell the judge your story. Technically you do have to stop at the stop sign, at the line. but if you can get the officer to admit you stopped one car length back, the judge might find it petty and find you not guilty. good luck
2007-10-29 03:27:19 · answer #5 · answered by cpava99219 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
go to court, tell the judge EXACTLY what happened and be low key and NOT a wise guy. Explain what you did and what the cop said and did. In all likeliness, the judge will be fair and dismiss the summons, especially if you have no previous history of traffic violations.
2007-10-29 03:13:33 · answer #6 · answered by Mike 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Cop has you dead to rights when i first got my licence I had a bad habit of doing that and got fined as well take the deal
2007-10-29 03:12:48 · answer #7 · answered by colin b 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did you disobey the traffic control device, or not?
2007-10-29 03:32:09 · answer #8 · answered by Pagan Dan 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you won't win...you just can't sit on the road..no matter what...
2007-10-29 03:24:33 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋