I got a @#%@# ticket!

[Rand]

Fight a traffic ticket? That would be a complete waste of time here. Cabinetman's tactics might work, but putting up a not-guilty defense would not work. In CA traffic court you are, by and large, guilty until proven innocent, and you can't prove yourself innocent.

JR

I went to court and beat a traffic ticket in California. I borrowed a book called Fight Your Ticket from Nolo press.

http://www.nolo.com/products/fight-y...ornia-FYT.html

It was extremely helpful and I got to make the cop look like an idiot in front of the judge.

The day I went to court I had to sit and watch many other cases that were up before mine. Everybody got up, admitted they committed the infraction, then said something to the effect of "But I have a really good excuse." They were all found guilty.

IIRC the book says NOT to postpone your court date because then you have waived your right to a speedy trial and they can postpone and re-schedule you as many times as they want.

[woodturner]

I'm pretty sure that they can't do that.

They really can do that. If you read your insurance policy, it will have words to the effect that they can cancel your insurance for misrepresentation, withholding information, etc. For auto policies, they typically include a reminder on the bill that you must report accidents and tickets. If you pay the bill without informing them of tickets or accidents, you are not only committing perjury, you are giving them the right to retroactively cancel your policy, and their liability is limited to return of premium.

Some states do impose time limits, typically for medical insurance policies. If one lies on their medical insurance policy in my state, for example, the insurance company has one year to discover this and cancel the policy. If the deception is not discovered in that period, they cannot cancel the policy based on that information, but they can deny coverage for that specific ailment.

[woodturner]

Time and document the light cycles at that intersection.

Excellent advice. I would also consider videotaping the light and bringing that video and a video player to court. It's one thing to say that the lights are timed a certain way, another to show the judge a video so they can see for themselves.

We defended one case in which the defendant was cited for "driving in the turn lane". We had the officer draw a picture of the intersection and place the car. We then showed the officer pictures of the intersection, and he had to acknowledge his drawing was incorrect. The defendant was acquitted.

Keep in mind, too, that traffic offenses are status offenses - you are either guilty or not, regardless of motive. For example, if you cross the center line on an icy day and hit someone, you will be found guilty because you crossed the center line. It doesn't matter that it was an icy day and you could not stop.

Edit: "We" means the firm who employed me, around 15 years ago. I do not currently practice law and am not currently licensed, so I am not currently an attorney.

[Hoakie]

Last time I was ticketed was on a back road in Texas on my way to South Padre. The officer's name was Deputy Hughey. I paid the fine and got outta dodge

[cgallery]

They really can do that.

I'm pretty sure they can't. Not for failure to report a speeding ticket or minor fender bender.

http://www.automotive.com/auto-insur...ur-policy.html

The insurance company is required by law to notify the policyholder at least ten days in advance if they decide to cancel a policy. This notice will inform the policyholder of the date when the policy will lose effect, and the reason for the policy cancellation. This grace period gives policyholders the chance to possibly resolve the issue, or seek out another insurance provider so their coverage will be continuous.

Think about it: If insurance companies could retroactively cancel policies for failure to report a traffic ticket, why would they bother spending (collectively) millions of dollars to gather this information from the states? They'd just wait for people to be involved in an accident, and then bail on the technicality.

[Black wallnut]

Excellent advice. I would also consider videotaping the light and bringing that video and a video player to court. It's one thing to say that the lights are timed a certain way, another to show the judge a video so they can see for themselves.

We defended one case in which the defendant was cited for "driving in the turn lane". We had the officer draw a picture of the intersection and place the car. We then showed the officer pictures of the intersection, and he had to acknowledge his drawing was incorrect. The defendant was acquitted.

Keep in mind, too, that traffic offenses are status offenses - you are either guilty or not, regardless of motive. For example, if you cross the center line on an icy day and hit someone, you will be found guilty because you crossed the center line. It doesn't matter that it was an icy day and you could not stop.

"We defended..." is written in the first person. Who exactly is "we" and what do you mean? If you are a lawyer then say so.

[woodturner]

I'm pretty sure they can't.

Guess we will just have to "agree to disagree" on that one, then. All I can say is that I know people personally that have had that experience.

[woodturner]

"We defended..." is written in the first person. Who exactly is "we" and what do you mean? If you are a lawyer then say so.

"We" was the firm where I worked at the time, around 15 years ago. I do not presently practice law and have not kept up my licensing, however, so I am not an attorney currently.

I added an edit to the original post to make that clear. Sorry for any confusion.

[cabinetman]

"We" was the firm where I worked at the time, around 15 years ago. I do not presently practice law and have not kept up my licensing, however, so I am not an attorney currently.

I added an edit to the original post to make that clear. Sorry for any confusion.

I'm still confused. The above statement infers you worked at a law firm, and practiced law. Back in this thread, you said you were a licensed electrical engineer.

So, did you graduate law school, pass the bar, and then go back to college and get an electrical engineering degree?
.

[Kristofor]

Obviously I'm not sure in his case, but I know at a company I worked for we had JDs who were also MDs, ElectricalE's, MechE's, Software Engineers, and Chemists. And it was usually the other way around, they picked up the real degree first, then went back to school to become a bloodsucker. Though in those cases the JD was more for intellectual property stuff not ambulance chasing so only half-hearted bloodsuckers ...

[cgallery]

...I know at a company I worked for we had JDs who were also MDs, ElectricalE's, MechE's, Software Engineers, and Chemists...

Yeah, this is also very common for people on the Internet with ID's (Imaginary Degrees). One day they have an IEE, and two months later they show up with a IJD.

[cabinetman]

Yeah, this is also very common for people on the Internet with ID's (Imaginary Degrees). One day they have an IEE, and two months later they show up with a IJD.

I've run across some with PhD's (piled high and deep)
.

[Stingray]

The rule of thumb around here is for every 4 cars they pull over, 1 has to get a ticket. I heard that directly from a sheriffs deputy. Evidently they have quotas to fill. That and in this economy, pensions, health care, costs of everything going up in the government, they need to write tickets to survive. I know, I know, everything has gotten crazy. And so much unjustice, but this is what we have to deal with today. And you probably were that 4th one to fill his quota.

[Richard in Smithville]

Just throwing this out there....don't know if it works south of me. Is it possible to agree with the officer but have a suitable explination?

Your Honour, the traffic light changed as I entered the intersection. Although I tried to clear the intersection while the light was still yellow for me, I was unable to safely do so before the light had changed in favour for the other traffic. This is when officer pimple face saw me.

We can make a guilty plea with a reason. Sometimes it works.

[DaveS]

Call the prosecutor and ask for a "continuance for dismissal"

You pay the fine, but the ticket stays "on hold" for a year. If you get another citation within the year, you get both. If you do not, the first one gets dismissed.

I have had 5 different friends do this here in Minnesota... not sure if it works everywhere.