From: john@storcon.UUCP (John Hunley)
Subject: Re: Speeding ticket fine reduction
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 00:52:25 GMT
Organization: Storage Concepts, Inc.

In ca.driving, judson@watnxt2.ucr.edu (Michael Judson) writes:

|>     Has anybody ever contested a speeding ticket to plea for a lower fine.
|>     I recently was cited for speeding, but there's no way that I would be
|>     able to fight the ticket and win.  However, I was wondering what the
|>     prospects would be for contesting it, hoping that the officer woulnd't
|>     show, but that if he did, plead with the judge for a lower fine.
|>     I was cited for 68 in a 55, but the road was totally straight, no traffic
|>     anywhere near me, sunny day, etc.  Therefore, I would plead that because
|>     of the situation, I shouldn't be fined too heavily.  Does anybody agree?
|>     Has anybody ever tried this.  I know that if I do fight it for the sole
|>     purpose of hoping that the officer won't show that the judge may, if he
|>     wants, raise the fine.  So, I would like to here ant comments, etc.

My experience observing several days of traffic courts (bear in mind that
this is in Fullerton Division 1, your mileage may vary):

If you plead guilty, you may offer an explanation, which the judge may
consider in setting your fine.  Most people who offered a believable
explanation got their fines reduced about 50% (assuming this wasn't their
5th ticket in a year or something).  Of course, the conviction still goes
on your record, and your insurance company will still ream you just as much.

If you plead not guilty, you get a trial date, which costs you another day
in court, along with the attendant stress of waiting another month or so.
In return, you get the POSSIBILITY of getting off for whatever reason.  (I
actually was found not guilty on my last speeding ticket because the rookie
cop forgot to testify that her speedometer was properly calibrated.  Anything
can happen.)  However, if you put the state through the bother of actually
giving you a trial, the judge tends not to be so lenient with the fine.  Most
people who went to trial and lost would up getting the full fine (which is
what you would have paid anyway if you had paid by mail).  So you MAY get off
if the cop fails to show or screws up his testimony, but probably not.  And
by trying, you'll probably lose your chance to get the fine reduced.

One trick that I've heard (but never tried myself):  if you live a significant
distance from where you got the ticket, you can petition the court (by writing
them a letter) for a change of venue to a court nearer where you live/work.
If the court grants it (and you have nothing to lose by asking), you'll
increase the chances of the cop not showing up, since the trial is now
presumably further from where HE lives/works.

For my $0.02:  if I got a ticket I didn't think I deserved, I'd fight it
tooth and nail.  Believe it or not, judges are generally open-minded, and if
you have a real case (witnesses and hard evidence are almost essential, since
cops are considered "expert witnesses") you can and should use the system to
your full advantage.  That's what it's there for.

However, in your case, as in the vast majority of traffic tickets, you say
there's no way you can fight the ticket and win.  I assume that means that
you actually were speeding.  Unfortunately, that's all the judge needs to be
convinced of in order to find you guilty.  My personal opinion is that in
cases where one is technically guilty but the "violation" is something that
didn't endanger/inconvenience/threaten anybody (like exceeding 55 on a
freeway), one should still use the system to its fullest possible extent.
This not only gives you a chance to get off on a technicality, but helps to
show those who observe the system in action how ridiculous some of our laws
are.  Maybe if enough of us flooded the courts with speeding and parking
ticket cases, they'd eventually have to do something to ease the load (like
stop writing so many trivial tickets).  Perchance to dream...
-- 
                            John Hunley
   Storage Concepts, Inc.                  UUCP:  uunet!storcon!john
   1622 Deere Ave.                        Voice:  (714) 852-8511
   Irvine, CA  92714                        FAX:  (714) 557-5064
Newsgroups: ca.driving