GG

 

I successfully beat a ticket a few months ago.

Take any advice about the process given on here with a grain of salt. It seems to differ greatly by state and city. They will probably make you jump through hoops just to weed out those who aren’t really serious about fighting their ticket.

For me, I made an appearance before a judge just to give my plea (guilty, not guilt, or no contest). This judge was VERY intimidating (yelled at a guy for leaning on his bench). I thought I was going to actually plead my case, but not so.

I pled not guilty, and they set another date for me. I assumed I was going in front of another judge for an actual hearing and that the officer would be present (that’s how they made it sound).

Nope, I was just meeting with a city prosecutor. She had a statement from the officer and listened to my side. I had pictures that made my argument indisputable. She moved to have my case dropped (I had to wait a week or so for a judge to sign off on her recommendation). She turned out to be amazingly nice and we got into a long conversation about my s2k (her husband wants one).


Dress nice (no jeans, dress shirt, shave, etc.). Be pleasant and smile. I think I was the only person in the courtroom that didn’t look like an addict and wasn’t belligerent with the people at the front desk (I also had more teeth than all of them combined).

I’m a middle school teacher, so I made sure to keep my school ID tag on (I was missing work). Do anything that sets you apart from the common criminals they deal with every day.

GOOD LUCK!

 

Yeah, if you couldn't see the ONE PERSON (cop) you should've been looking out for, I think your credibility is pretty shot.

There were probably blind kids, puppies, and pregnant women crossing the street and you just didn't see them.

 

My first ticket was for speeding, and I was. End of story.

 

Do not plead Guilty; plead No Contest with an explanation. Never plead guilty (in this kind of instance; traffic).

 

I plead guilty with explanation - because...you are guilty for speeding. First ticket was dropped, and my other got 29 miles taken off the ticket. Was a $360 ticket or something, paid $102 out the door after court fees. Seems to work fine for me. Must be different in CA; which doesn't surprise me.

 

if there is missing information that is supposed to be on the ticket it should be thrown out, automatically. Any incorrect info on a traffic ticket is grounds for immediate dismissal.

 

Im most cases and within technicalities this would be correct. Some jurisdictions use electronic tickets now that all the cop does is type in the details and it prints it all out for you. The down side is that if the cop makes a mistake and doesnt enter such details, ive seen a judge tell him to correct his mistake and resubmit it. This will usually happen on the down low though... Ask me how I know this, I dated a DA for awhile and she told me lots and lots of the inside tricks of the trade. Best part of that was every ticket I got in that area was instantly knocked down to a mechanical or parking ticket ^^