havabooz

this is my story

before i start...i want to tell everyone...including those "reports" on v1.com DONT TURN OFF X BAND

ok...so im on teh garden state pkwy north in the express lane(which is stupid of me to begin with)

some pretty slow drivers around and its only a 2 lane higway

im getting some x band warnings on my advanced logic mode (L)

and im ignoring them cause they are going away

then i get one that keeps getting louder...but since ppl say that cops never use X band and since V1 says that X band is usually bogeys i just ignore it

at that moment there was a nice little opening..so i stepped on the gas...then all of a sudden i see a cop ...i slam on teh breaks but its too late ....and i felt like the biggest shmuk cause i spent 400 on this thing..and i usually listened to teh X band warnings

anyway...the cop was reeeeeeeeeeeaaaaly nice and gave me a ticket for 74 in a 65 instead of 97 in a 65....

that means he put me in teh 1-9 class as opposed to 30+ class

he saved my ***...anyway...its 2 points

my question is...can i fight it to try and only pay a fine...i dont want points on my record....my friend just fought off a 100mph in a 65 down to 2 points (it was originally gonna be a suspended liscence)

so i figure maybe i can get rid of the points if i talk to the prosecuter

any advice?

and should V1 pay for my ticket?

del105

iTrader: (4)

You need to plea not guilty. Ask for a bench trial, supoena the officers info on the ticket from the clerks office, you will never get it in time for tial and they will drop the charges. My last 2 tickets I did this. got off scott free and the funny thing is I didn't even have an excuse for speeding I just said not guilty and they dropped the charges because I didn't not recieve full disclosure of the charges against me before my hearing.

havabooz

ok...slow down there buddy...your plan sounds good but im confused

you gotta run me step by step

one question b4 you start though

can the cop come and say "gimme a break, the kid was goin 97"

or is that info void once he gives me a ticket for 74

afr0puff

iTrader: (1)

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS fight moving violations. Even if you lose, a $50 court fee is chump change to what you will end up paying anyway. If he gives you a ticket for 74, then its a ticket for 74. You can argue the $hit out of that if the cop doesn't show. Most cops never show, unless its a small town. If the cop fails to show, they usually throw the ticket out right there or just make you pay the ticket with no points. If they are really **** about it, they will reschedule. Cop has up to 3 times to show up before its dismissed.

AndyB

It's cool that the cop cut you slack.

In my experience the only way to get rid of the points is to beat the ticket. I tried to "pay the fine but lose the points" and the DA sort of laughed at me. So I said "fine, then I guess I need to stick to my plea of non guilty". I could see he was not happy.

Here is what I would do (I am in CT so your system may be different)

1) Plead not guilty
2) When they have you come in to talk about the case (for me it was the DA) ask about the reduction but be prepaired for him to hold firm.
3) If he does not drop the points, fight the ticket.

In my case I must have convinced the DA I was capable of a reasonable fight. After a couple of days I went to the courthouse, pulled my case file, and found out that he didn't even bother to subpoena the cop! No cop means no conviction. I didn;t bother with subpoenaing any evidence for my defense.

The day of the trial the cop was not there and the magistrate tossed out the case.

It is the POINTS that made me fight the case. I don't mind paying a fine if I am guilty, but the points just enable the insurance company to rape you. For that reason alone I would ALWAYS fight the ticket. Fight the system man! Power to the people!



Good luck.

del105

iTrader: (4)

I'm not a lawyer but I have played golf with a few of them.
So basically this is just what I have learned over the years.
There are a million and one ways of fighting a speeding ticket I just think my way is the easiest.


The reason I said you should supoena the officers information is so you have full disclosure of the charges against you. If you do recieve it before the trial you can see exactly what the office wrote down (like your actual speed, what you said to him ect...).
You can start to form an arguement with this information.

The odds are though being in a big city like NYC you will never get this info in time and they will drop the charges. Or the officer may not show at trial and they will likely drop the charges for this as well, although they may reschedule for the officer but not likely.

Put it this way you have to plea not guilty if you want to do anything at all. If you want to ask the prosecutor a question, pleas not guilty. You want to ask for traffic school, plea not guilty


You should NEVER accept getting points on your license without a fight.

afr0puff

iTrader: (1)

Define officers information? Who do you specifically talk to and what do you specifically ask for?

havabooz

actually i got the ticket in NJ and i am a NJ resident (the NY NJ thing with me in very confusing)

all that matters right now is that i AM a NJ resident and i got a ticket in NJ


if i did get the full disclosure before the case wouldnt that hurt me??

being that i was going 97 not 74

im very confused here

anyway...it is a small town sorta...but i dont know if the cop is going to show up or not

on the back of the ticket there is a scheduled court date (in the case that i would want to go- which i do) but i am not required to


so now what do i do

plead not guilty??

or plead guilty and ask to talk to a prosecutor?

Hencho

iTrader: (1)

If you wish to speak with the prosecutor, call the court and ask the clerk if you will be avaliable to do so before the apearance, or if you need to reschedule .

Most of the time they will say ok, plead not guilty then come in to talk - at least thats what i have to do on my re-scheduled nov trial date

havabooz

what county is your court in?


so your sayin i should ask for a diff date than the one on the back of my ticket?

or just ask if i can speak with the prosecutor before the court date?

in that case they would ask me to plead not guilty and then allow me to talk to him

then what do i tell him

i feel like its a lose lose situation

i dont understand how ppl get out of these things but they always manage to lessen the penalty

hopefully ill be succesful

anyway..the court i have to deal with is in holmdel

JasonSmithMT

and why do you think V1 should pay for your ticket ... sounds like to me it was giving you the warning. Be happy the cop gave you a break.

gooters

V1 says they will pay your first ticket I think...

make sure you understand the town you recieved your ticket in before you plea not-guilty. If it is a small town and the cop shows and remembers you...you are screwed. Also, consider an attorney. If it is a huge juristiction (NJ State Police)/Trenton PD etc. then you might be well off to try to make your ticket "slip through the cracks".

havabooz

its not really a small town...the scheduled court date is in a month and that cop must give 30 tickets a day

he is a highway cop

i think i know what i need to do now

they always care about money ..never about points..it probobly wont be that hard to negotiate just a monetary fine

as for v1 paying my tikcet

i dont think they should

they just shouldnt advertise that X band is not a cop

Duke407

Where are you people getting your information-especially you del105, seeing that you live here in Atlanta? The reason I am asking is because I AM a cop in metro Atlanta, and let me tell you, it does not usually work the way these people are explaining it to you. Now, I am not familiar with the laws in NYC, but I have a few questions for you first:
1. What type of instrument was used to verify the speed that is on the ticket? (radar, laser, vascar?)
2. If the cop got you with a Laser, you mind as well hang it up. The US Supreme Court has already ruled that unless the officer fails to lay the proper foundation for the speeding case, it will be almost impossible to win.
3. Also, most courts here in Atlanta may or may not have the officer present at your first appearance hearing. The "first appearance hearing" is just that, it is the time when you will plead either "guilty" or "not guilty".
4. If you plead not guilty, then the court will do one of two things--either call the officer in to testify if he/she is readilly available or they will reset the case for the officers' next scheduled court date.
5. You can talk to a prosecutor, but understand one thing, the prosecutor is there to "PROSECUTE" you, and if the officer has already done you the favor of reducing the ticket (which I might add WAS awfully nice, cuz usually cops won't), then the court will probably not help you out very much.
I have been a police officer for about 15 years, was assigned to the DUI task force and have testfied and convicted about 10,000 speeding cases (no exaggeration), so I believe that I am in the position to say that I know what I am talking about when it comes down to this question. Not to be rude or anything, but these other guys really don't know much about what they are talking about---especially if it comes from them talking to some lawyer. Not that lawyers don't know things, but frankly the lawyer that del105 talked to was probably some type of lawyer who deals with something OTHER than criminal law (i.e. corporate lawyer, medical lawyer, etc). The question was also asked on this post is "can the officer bring up the fact that the kid was originally going 97, but was reduced to 74" statement from the officer? ABSOLUTELY!!!
If you are really looking at keeping points off of your license, ask the prosecutor if he will allow you to attend some type of risk reduction course in lieu of the ticket. Many times the court will accomodate you on this. Like I said originally, I am not familiar with NY law in essence, but if you go into that court with a chip on your shoulder and/ or start demanding things after that cop has already helped you out, well then.......you might be in for a suprise. As for a cop intentionally not showing up in court, it doesn't happen that much, because then he or she can be held in contempt of court. On a final note, just know that it really "isn't" all about the money. Frankly, the cop gets none of it anyways. The point is that they are just trying to do their job--maybe because the leading cause for deaths on our highways is related to speed. You have to understand that the cop is often ordered by his or her agency to write citations. What I mean is, more times than not, the cops really don't like to have to write people tickets, but sometimes it is inevitable. This is just my 2 cents and again, I am not trying to be rude to anyone here, but like I always used to say to the folks who wanted to challenge me in court on a speeding ticket "...you just better make sure you know what you are talking about, because I do".

WolfMan

Duke:

Can I ask ya somthing? I am in CA, and I just recently got a ticket for 62 in a 50 (I thought it was 55). Is 12 mph over a huge deal? I was just gonna do online traffic school to drop the points. Prolly the best idea yeah? I don't really want to go to court or anything, cause it would just be pointless I think, I don't really have anything to argue.

Duke407

What I have found out over the years I've been doing this is that most people are really more concerned about the "points" rather than the fine, due to the fact that the points will inevitably increase your insurance premiums. I always suggest to folks that they look into some type of "point reduction" type of class to take. It usually helps in more ways than one from either keeping the points completely off of your record, all the way to lowering your insurance premiums just because you took the course (hint: if you take the course, don't tell them it is because you got a speeding ticket, but rather because you want to lower your insurance premium. That way the course should be cheaper). I will also say this, if you have NEVER had a speeding ticket before in your life, then you may want to speak with a prosecutor at court and weigh out your options. But to answer your question a little better, no, 12 over really isn't "that" big of a deal, but once again, I am only familiar with Georgia law and don't know what the fine structure is over there in CA. Hope this helps some.

havabooz

hey duke...im teh one who got the ticket....i got it in NJ on the major highway (garden state parkway)

by the time i go to trial the cop will have seen almost 900000000 people and given them tickets

he got me with a radar

and when i said that "all they care about is money" what i meant was that normally you talk to the prosecuter before the trial even takes place and they usually work out a deal (monetary)

nothing illegal..they just really do want the money

and as far as the fact that i was really going 97...it doesnt matter..because the cop gave me a ticket for 74 and the cop either wont be there for the negotiation ---so as far as the prosecuter is concerned...he thinks i was doing 74

its kinda complicated

its hard to really say what goes on..but as far as the trial is concerened ..its more up to the prosdecuter than the cop

Duke407

Actually, the prosecutor cannot make any deals to reduce or to help you out without first consulting the officer. That is fact. As far as thinking whether or not the prosecutor will actually know what the "original" speed was without the officer even present? He will. And here is why. When you got your ticket, it was just one copy more than likely. What you don't see and know is that there are anywheres from 3 to 5 more copies of your citation that the officer maintains after he gives you your copy. Those other copies are what the cop will write any and all notes on (i.e. "actually 97 mph, but was reduced on scene to 74 mph"). The prosecutor WILL see this information. It is also what is used to refresh the officers' memory come court time. You also need to realize that the probability of there being a video camera with audio was more than likely used during your stop. ITs hard to beat that conversation when in fact it was all recorded. Also, I realize what you meant when you were talking about the "money" issue. Though it is obviously required by law to impose a fine and that many jurisdictions purchase the things that they have from the "revenue" they receive, it really boils down to the state, county, municipality, jurisdiction (whatever the case) to make the case, thus satisfying the issuing state authority. Money IS important, but more important to both police and prosecutors are lives saved and lessons learned. Believe me!

WolfMan

No I have never had a ticket before in my life.. so try and talk to a prosecutor then?

Duke407

Sure. Explain to the prosecutor that you have NEVER had any speeding ticket before and was wondering what options they could provide you. In Georgia, we have a plea what is called "NOLO" or "Nolo-Contendre". What that means is that if you plea "nolo" in this state, it will show on your record as such, but is not a "guilty" plea or a "not guilty" plea. It merely means that you are not contesting the ticket and will not put any points on your record. The catch with that is that each person can only plea "nolo" ONCE every five years per specific charge. Therefore, people's insurance rates don't increase. I'm not sure if CA has that same type of plea bargain or not. Either way, if you don't like what the prosecutor has to say, then simply complete the risk reduction course to help out the point situation. Understand that nothing is done or given for "free", but the "sting" can be lessened quite a bit, if you know what I mean.