From: whs70@dancer.uucp (22501-sohl)
Newsgroups: nj.politics
Subject: Re: Traffic court: anyone been there?
Date: 13 Oct 92 17:40:27 GMT
Distribution: nj
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ

In article <1992Oct13.165436.26513@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> Max A. Figueroa <mafs@eureka.bellcore.com> writes:
>In article <156@bluehau.bubble.org> Hugo Bueno, hugo@bluehau.bubble.org
>writes:
>>Hate to say it, but the way the system works, you have a snowball's
>>chance in hell to win this one.  The judge will ALWAYS believe
>>the cop. Always.  Cops are always honest, citizens always lie.
>>That's the way it is. Good luck.
>
>I would definitely agree.  When you get there, be prepared for a real
>trial.  You will have to give opening and closing arguments, question
>witnesses and cross-examine witnesses, and be prepared to be
>cross-examined by the prosecutor.

You do not have to give opening and closing remarks, although
that is a good chance (especially closing remarks) to summarize any
points you made in the cross examination of the cop.  As to being
cross examened by the prosecutor.  That can happen ONLY if you take
the stand in your own defense.  The prosecutor has no right to
question you if you never take the stand.  I have seem many individuals
try their own cases and it is certainly not a done deal that they all lose.
The bottom line has a great deal to do with being prepared (ie. filing
for discovery) ahead of time, knowing all the details of the ticket,
reviewing ahead of time the specific law you were charged with violating,
etc.  I have seen several courts were simply by pleading not guilty
to a speeding ticket that was greater than 15 over the limit, the
prosecutor would then seek those individuals out during a break and
then ask them if they'd plead guilty to a lower speed limit violation of
14 mph over the limit.  That at least lowers the points assessed
against you, it gives the prosecutor another guilty plea and it gets
everyone out that much earlier.  Go for it!

>  Also, be prepared to face a smart
>prosecutor trying to pull a fast one on you.  They are trained to make
>you look bad.

But they are not all Harvard graduates at the top of their class.
Local town prosecutor jobs don't pay much and you'll usually find
the prosecutor in town A is also a prosecutor for several other
towns also.  Sure they want to win, but they don't want to spend
an hour trying to win a case just for the record.  They'll cut
their losses if they see things aren't going in their favor.

Remember too that if you can create any reasonable doubt (eg. the
cop never did pace me, etc.) as a result of cross examining the cop,
then you can immediately move for dismissal after the state rests its case.
The worst thing that then happens is the judge denies the motion and you
go on with your own defense.  The fact that the judge denied the
dismissal at that point doesn't hurt you in any way and it
tells you he hasn't bought the reasonable doubt element without addition
testimony that will come as you have your witnesses testify and ultimately
(if you want to) you testify yourself also.  

By the way, I've seen the prosecutor ask the court to dismiss charges in
some cases because the testimony the cop gave was so screwed up he (the
prosecutor) prbably expected to lose.  Again, the prosecutor wants
to win, but not at all costs.  His time is valuable and he is probably
being paid on a flat rate bases, not by the hour.  The same is true
for the judge.  How do I know that...as a councilman in my town, I
review, make changes to and finally approve the municipal budget each
year and that is the way these "professions" are generally paid.

>Above all, don't be optimistic, it always boils down to your word against
>the cop's and we all know who wins that one.  

If I recall, there was another individual in the car (the original
poster's wife) who can certainly testify to the facts also.  It always
helps to have more than just one person's word vs the cop.

Another thing to consider is that if you get to court and the cop
doesn't show that day, don't immediately accept a rescheduleing
of the trial.  You can ask the court to dismiss the case because
of the states failure to produce the cop as scheduled, you had
to travel many miles, you had to take off from work and shouldn't
have to do that again, etc.  You may still have to appear again but
then again, you may not. 

>Good luck!

Ditto, Good Luck and let us know how this all ends for you.

Note - This is not legal advice, just the things I'd do if I was
confronted with similar circumstances.
 
Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.
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