NY530i

After postponing it for a year my court date is finally here tomorrow. Court date is for speeding 70 in a 50 and unsafe lane changing. Now when the cop pulled me over he also gave me a tints ticket without me rolling up my windows. He said...I see you have tints. Then when he told me he gave me the unsafe lane change cause i changed lanes without looking i kept quiet but thought first of all Ive never changed lanes in my life witrhout looking and second how could he see I wasn't looking if I had tints. He clocked me with a radar or a laser at 7:30 in the morning. Any recomendations on court tactics or anything i should say to the judge. Definitly will be appreciated.

JayArras

In CT, the prosecutors meet with you before you see the judge to see if you will admit to "maybe going a little fast". The hope is that you'll agree to say, 60, and they'll stick you with a fine for that. As long as you NEVER ADMIT to speeding, they'll have to PROVE it. If you say they caught you with radar, you have every right to question the accuracy of the gun used, and ask to see calibration records. Also you should know that fog affects the accuracy of radar, so if it was foggy that morning, you can question that too.

I can't help you with the tints question other than ask are yours legal in your state and did he measure the darkness in any way? If it was just a subjective observation, I don't think they have a legal recourse to fine you.

Good luck, dude. Plan on wasting most of your day there if your court system is anything like ours. Be sure to report back how you made out.

craigm1841

too bad you waited until now to ask someone who could provide you decent information. Why people even go to traffic court themselves is beyond me. Should have hired a traffic lawyer for $100 bucks, this ticket would be non-existant by noon.

I can only make this reccomendation so many times. While people I know hardly ever listen to this advice and continue to go to court, try to use some "tactic" to get out of it, and it only pisses off the judge and the cop. If you think you know the law better than someone who has been practicing it for 20 years, or think that your word will be taken above a police officers in a court of law, you are mistaken. The only hope you have is if the cop doesnt show up.

I will continue to pay a traffic lawyer and never pay for a ticket or have points assessed. Last time I got of on some off-the-wall technicality to do with the time it took for the cop to submit the paperwork from the time I recieved the ticket. This requires the lawyer to submit the request for information prior to the court date and there are 100 things the cop can do wrong, from the way he tunes/tests the radar gun (which has to be documented) to the way he fills out the ticket, to the way he files the court paperwork. Only a lawyer who deals with this on a day-to-day basis would be sharp enough to pick up on it.

You better hope the cop doesnt show up today.

Iceman

Radar guns are not accuate. They are so often wrong that they are no longer accepted by the judges here in Germany.

pukka

What penalty/fines are you facing?

If you have a CLEAN driving record with no other outstanding fines due, you might be able to claim "no contest" and work out a deal. You might get the points reduced or dropped - but I doubt you will avoid paying money.

If your driving record is suspect or if you are facing pretty steep penalties/fines then I'd suggest you find a lawyer pretty quick. Otherwise you are at the judge's mercy - and in that case I'd suggest you be honest, try not to admit guilt, and don't try to bullshit anyone. It also helps if you are RESPECTFUL (wear shoes, slacks and a collared dress shirt, be well groomed, speak politely, address the judge as YOUR HONOR, etc).

Good luck.

REALLY!?!?! Then all those mugshots of me being flashed by speed cameras and mailed to my house with a fine notice could have been thrown out in court???

Iceman

No.

I'm talking about the Laser and Radar GUNS. If you are flashed it wasn't a gun!
Even the "provida" equipped cars, unmarked video cars, are not legal in most courts anymore. As long as the radar/laser is mobile/movable and not stationary or on a fixed tripod it is considered to be not enough evidence. On those guns the police even took 10% off, but still the judges say it is not a secure way to measure speed.

NY530i

Came home from court. Verdict is 4 points on my license. Could have been worse. He found me guilty of the speeding and chose not to testify on the unsafe lane changes. I was very quiet that day so he didnt have anyhting to remember. He didnt have any notes just knew what lane I was in. He had all his collabration records with him so there was no fighting it. Im probably gonna try to over pay the ticket as i heard but dont know if its true or not that if you overpay it they send you back a refund for the amount you over payed. As long as u dont deposit or cash the check the case isnt closed and it will not go to insurance. I did get a flat tire on the way home

ron_cb550

That's a myth man... you just lost in court... point-deductions are assessed upon verdict/conviction ..... so don't go sending EXTRA cash, unless you're OK with charitable donations (tickets often contain additional fees.. in Quebec, it's a "contribution fee" which usually goes to help fund "families in need" or" victims of abuse".. if you overpay your fine, they'll just relocate/consolidate the funds under "contribution fee")

In short, Big Brother doesn't care about what they owe you, only what you owe them.

The flat sucks, though..

craigm1841

Classic urban legend. Save your dollar or two, you are going to need when when your insurance rates go up for the next three years. Four points is significant. 12 is the max in NY and your license is gone for 6 months. I tried that twice when I lived in NY. Does not work. Dont believe me?

Snopes - Overpaying Traffic Ticket


Next time hire a traffic lawyer. That thing would have been dismissed so fast due to some rediculous technicality. I dont know a single person who has lost when they send in a lawyer.

ron_cb550

Did you get a thank you note, or at least a tax receipt?