Aggro_Al

Check to be sure of this. In many places the cop or meter maid doesn't need to show up to court for a traffic violation. In those places, they can just use the ticket and/or video in their place and just add additional comments. Most places will let you challenge the citation by mail and that usually doesn't cost anything. If the initial reviewer agrees with you they will dismiss your ticket. If not, you can again challenge in person.

If the place allows you to challenge by mail, I would do that first because it's the least amount of hassle and if they don't dismiss it you'll have a second opportunity to challenge it. Now, if you were trying to evade you might be able to go court and ask for them to reduce your fine/ticket or ask for traffic school. If you go to court be courteous to the judge or the reviewer. They have the power to dismiss or reduce most citations but if you're an a$$ to them they can also raise the fine to the legal max and/or assign additional violations.

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

NO offense but I think you are telling half-truth's here.

"...ok a few things happen all at once..." Why didn't you just pull over?

I agree with above, I believe you were trying to elude the cop. Why did you drive with no lights on? That is an obvious sign you were trying to elude.

If you were 5 over, why would you worry about it, just pull over, at most you would have got a warning.

I'll raise the imfamous flag!

The Mike

Way to Go Built2ShredZ! You took a bad situation and made it better

Anyhow, in the original poster's story... Why did he have his lights off at 11pm? If that is true it will be on the car cam tape. 99% of the cops have those now days *in the states at least* It will be your best defense to cover your *** in court. You have a right to view it and even make a copy for your defense so do it. If you were truelly being shady and the cop just caught you fair and square and you can see it plainly so on tape... give yourself a break and fall on the mercy of the court. I think the whole case hinges on what's on the tape. Is the mystery car there or not? Where your headlights on while you were driving or not? Was there a reason for you to be in that neighborhood at that moment or not?

Let us know what happens

ncparamedic

iTrader: (49)

CelticPride2

Based on the facts given here, it seems to me that two mistakes were made:

1) Not pulling over right away: If you didn't think you were speeding outrageously, then you really had nothing to lose by just stopping....ducking off into a neighborhood and the pulling over can be made to look like an evasion attempt quite easlily.

2) Trying to pin everything on the (alleged) yellow Mustang: It's only natural to wanna give your side of the story after you're pulled over; however, most cops aren't a damn bit interested in engaging in a debate with you on the side of a road. Instead of risking pissing the cop even further, just be polite and save the detailed explanation for the court. Like VQ35DEV6 said, "Don't talk back to an officer."

Pit X

When ur in court ask to see the PVS thats the camera in there car and its always running so if you didnt do anything wrong then itll be there. thats how I got out of my red light and im only 18

crjpilot

Yeah. If he doesn't appear in court you win by default.

zipgun

Only thing is most times they do show up.

The Mike

Well it depends.... traffice court and criminal court work differently. DWI's go to criminal court. regular speeding tickets go to traffic court. But as stated somewhere in an earlier post.. the "Wreckless Driving" charge might go to criminal court as a more serious offense. I'm not sure, .. maybe somebody knows for sure. But if the latter is true then it wouldn't matter if the cop didn't show up they would still try you with just his written testimony or whatever else evidence he has. No easy out.

Oh snap.. I was thinking of another window i had open where it was a speeding ticket in excess of 100mph. my bad. disregard. can i delete this post? lol, well if you are reading this then i didn't figure out how.

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

Isn't is damn?

illZ

That is not true. Years ago I had a very cool judge tell an officer off in the middle of the court room, becuase he just wanted the judge to believe him(officer) over me. Without evidence.

I walked.

OUphidelt

Dude, If your lights were off at 11 pm, you were running/eluding. There is no excuse for having your headlights off at that time of night, unless you were parked. I have gone on several ride alongs where people have done this exact same thing. Are you sure you and the alleged "Yellow Mustang" were not engaged in a little bit of illegal activity? That Is probably going to be the defense, and explanation of going 16 mph in excess of the speed limit. Face it, you got caught, without your headlights on, speeding after 11pm, and you were in a sports car. More than likely you are going to have to pay. If you cant do the time. Dont do the crime.

Aggro_Al

In most places the cop or meter maid doesn't have to show up for a basic traffic violation review. They can use the ticket and/or video with additional comments as their statements and are not required to appear.

In a trial court, the officer would have to show up.

Check with the Vehicle Code or State Code that is listed on your ticket. It will tell you the authority that enforces the violation then you should check the Code for that authority to determine what your challenge or dispute options and procedures are. You can probably find the information online just by doing a Google search.

bauckrob1

+1

sq40

iTrader: (4)

After viewing all of the posts, I think he should have either floored it and got away or just stopped. His real crime was doing it half azzed and getting caught.

VO...

iTrader: (25)

This is true. Traffic court has different stages. Traffic court is a business and they are there to make money. The courts will make different efforts to collect money and end a pending case, as to avoid going to trial.
- 1st court appearance will basically be to show your face and enter a plea. The court will offer you different options(depending on charges/violations) to basically collect money and end all of your misery.
- If you plea innocent or no contest / trial by jury, your date gets reset. When you return many months later, it is best to return with a lawyer. This is the time where he bargins with the DA. You just sit there and your attorney will come up to you every now and then to offer a proposal to end the case. It is usually a lesser charge, that will not effect your driving record(maybe not in this case), and you end up paying for a non-moving violation plus court fees or maybe take 3 months non-supervised probation(deferred judification). The officer is not required to be at either court hearing.
-If you still insist on being innocent, you must deny all of the DA's offers and request Trial by Jury.
-Upon your next return, the judge will subpoena the officer and he will show up.