From: forda@gtephx.UUCP (Andrew Ford @ AGCS, Phoenix, Arizona)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving,misc.legal
Subject: Re: Traffic Court Advice
Date: 12 Aug 92 21:03:22 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: gte

In article <1992Aug5.030508.6821@c3177208.ssr.hp.com>, bill@c3177208.ssr.hp.com (Bill Chidester) writes:
> In article <1992Aug5.011649.21013@u.washington.edu> you write:
> : I recently received a speeding ticket, and I have requested a hearing
> : to contest it.  I requested the hearing because I felt the ticket was
> : unjustly given, but I also wanted to see what traffic court was like.
> : 
>    I always take a traffic ticket to court if there's any doubt that
>    the cop screwed up.  In my last five traffic stops over 12 years
>    I took three to court -- two were tossed out and one was reduced 
>    (the other two busts were righteous, he had me).

Likewise, I always contest -- about half the time I've had tickets 
dismissed for various silly but fortunate circumstances:  wrong license
plate number ("Your honor, I am not guilty of the crime specified on
this citation -- I do not own a vehicle the the plate # xxx xxx), 
wrong date ("Your honor, this citation says that I'll be violating the
law tomorrow at 10:00 pm.  I assure sir that I will *not* be!"), the 
officer was out of town (nasty miners' strike) 3 times, and finally,
the officer present did not see the accident (hearsay evidence only) and
the other person involved did not show (state has not evidence to present)..

> : Does anyone have any experiences contesting traffic violations or any
> : pointers to give?  I have no legal background, so I am looking for some
> : kind of layman's reference if one exists.  Is anyone aware of such a
> : publication or information source?

Try your local library under the title "Beating a traffic ticket" or
"How to beat a traffic ticket."  There are some good ones out there.

>    Don't go into court to play lawyer; if you can, go early so you 
>    can see how the judge reacts to the cops and the victims (er,
>    defendants).  It's great entertainment:   You would not believe
>    how stupid the average American can be.  It all comes out in 
>    traffic court.  I got to see this one:
[...]

Better yet, go sit in court for several days before your hearing:
you'll learn a lot!

Here's one I heard:

Situation: Tow truck operator drives across private parking lot to avoiding
waiting for traffic light before making right turn.

Tow truck operator's response:
"Your honor, I was proceeding West-bound on Thomas Road approaching
Interstate 17 when I got a radio call.  I turned into the XXXX hotel
parking lot so that I could safely stop and write down the location
when it came.  When I was about 3/4 of the way across the lot, the 
dispatcher came back and said that a closer vehicle would get it, so
I proceed from the parking lot in the direction I wished to travel."

The lying s.o.b. got off!

> 
> : For the record, I'll go ahead and give the details of my incident.  I was
> : driving in the right lane of I-5 (3 lanes) between Olympia and Tacoma.
> : I had been making a conscious effort not to speed because I was not in
> : a hurry.  It was about 1:00 am, and there were few cars on the road when
> : I noticed somebody tailgating me.  After a few minutes, I realized I had
> : increased my speed to slightly over 60 mph.  Since I didn't wan't to speed,
> : I eased up on the gas to reduce my velocity.  Soon after, the car behind me
> : (a state trooper, of course) put on his lights and pulled me over.  He gave
> : me a ticket for doing 65 mph in a 55 zone.  When I told him I that I had
> : been trying to maintain 55, and increased my speed subconciously because
> : of being followed so closely, he told me that I should have guessed that he
> : was a trooper and stayed below 55.  True.
> : 
>    This is exactly what you tell the judge.  Tell him you weren't checking
>    your speed because you thought some drunk was on your tail and you 
>    had your eye on the mirror (probably true).

Agreed, but also add that your feared for your life as you were alone on
and Interstate highway at 1 am and were being tailgated by a car which
could easily have passed you.  State the you feard being shot by a 
gang (if there is even a single recent case of highway shooting, this
will was).  

Also state that the distance between you and the car behind
was so small as to pose a serious risk of an accident if a rabbit/coyote/
fox/deer/etc were to jump into the road in front of you (while you were
doing 55).  So your were forced to increase your speed to maintain a safe
distance between yourself and the car that would not pass in order to 
protect your life and prevent an accident (there is, in this state, 
an obligation to try to prevent an accident and it can be used to 
justify otherwise illegal situations).  

Let the judge figure out that the cop deliberately entrapped you.

Afterwards, file a complaint with the police dept for reckless 
endangerment: your single complaint won't do much, but the complaints 
of 10 dozen people over a two year peroid might end his behavior.  

(PS. next time it happens, slam on your brakes (hard!) and claim that
there was an animal in the road, so you had to stop.  (Try not to do 
it so hard that you get hit, but scare the living sh*t out of the officer --
you may spare yourself more tickets later on.)

And finally, when someone starts tailgating, lightly apply brakes with
your foot still on the accellerator.  (This will at least strengthen
your case in court.)

[...]
>    You should summarize that you were observing the speed limit prior to 
>    the approach of the other vehicle; the vehicle was following closely
>    on an otherwise open road for no apparent reason and you felt it was 
>    safer to keep your eyes on the road and on the traffic approaching from 
>    the rear than to constantly monitor your speed.  You operated your car 
>    in a safe and reasonable manner and don't feel that you deserve a ticket.
>    If you don't have any previous busts in the past three years, tell him
>    you're quite proud of your safe driving record and would like the judge
>    to consider that in your favor (the judge will already know that it's 
>    costing you more money to defend yourself than the ticket is worth, so
>    save him some time and don't mention it).
> 
> : I wish the highway patrol would merely serve the purpose of keeping the 
> : highways safe, rather than providing a revenue source for the state.  Is
> : an officer's salary proportional to the number of tickets he gives?

I would state this to the court as "Why is the highway patrol out
terrorizing people in the middle of the night?  (christ, don't they
have radar?).

[...]


-- 
"25 States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on, and walk down the street with
no permit of any kind: some say it's crazy.  However, 4 out of 5 US murders are 
committed in the other half of the country: so who is crazy?"   -  Andrew Ford
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