Man up and pay the ticket.

 

Rank has its privileges.

Become a cop if you want to imitate one.

 

Badge number will suffice.

 

Judge will consider the following:

1. 20 year old in Vette.
2. Experienced cop.
3. Experienced judge (himself).

Any bets who will come out on short end???

Won't be judge.
Won't be LEO.
One one person left.

By the way, don't drive through PA with one hand on the window sill and only one hand on wheel. Reckless driving--automatically if cop wants to ticket you. Famous catch-all.

 

plead 'not guilty', show up to court, nollied, that's the way it typically works in CT

 

Not in Texas. In Texas it's illegal to "obstruct traffic" by driving less slowly than the average traffic--even if the average traffic is speeding.

In which case you're hosed, because you can get ticketed no matter what you do.

Or at least so I've been told.

 

A speeding ticket is one thing, but what you got is pure judgement call and that you can argue in court. Find if there is a written DB level or RPM level otherwise it is a big gray area.

 

You are oh so correct.

A big ol' gray area in the courts back yard where the home team is heavily favored. Guess who the home team is...

 

You may be able to fight it in court but it will be your word against the LEO's and you know who they will believe. You need to plead your case with the DAs office before showing up in court. Be nice and just state your reasoning without threatening anybody or anything. You need them to feel good about themselves and how great they are as they grant you your boon.

As for getting a lawyer you can do the pleading on your own and get the same result at no extra cost.

The traffic court system is about collecting money so you will get your constitutional right to a speedy trial but not necessarily a fair one.

Bill

 

Please explain to me how you know where the officer is going and what type of case he is responding to? Not all emergency type cases calls for use of emergency lights. In some situations the use of lights makes other drivers panic and block your way. He might be responding to a panic alarm at your house where your family is being confronted by an armed intruder...but I guess if you had your way you would have him drive the speed limit and stop completely at every stop sign.

I just love people who speak from their *** without knowing what the hell they are talking about...

 

 

What was the specific California vehicle code section you were cited for? It should be listed on the front of the citation. I've worked as a LEO in Southern California for over 22 years, and I was the supervisor of the traffic division for our department, but I've never heard of "improper starting" as a California vehicle code violation.

Could it be one of the following sections of the vehicle code?

CVC 22350. No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.

CVC 23109 (c) A person shall not engage in a motor vehicle exhibition of speed on a highway, and no persons shall not aid or abet in a motor vehicle exhibition of speed on any highway. (Misdemeanor)

CVC 22106. No person shall start a vehicle stopped, standing, or parked on a highway, nor shall any person back a vehicle on a highway until such movement can be made with reasonable safety.

I think you're confused about exactly what the violation was and I can't give an educated opinion until you clarify exactly what you were ticketed for.

 

OP: When issued, you may have been left holding an insufficient charging document. The trial court may try a case for which a charge is made only if it meets the requirements of a charging document. A sufficient charging document must include info required by your state. Research what the requirement is.

 

He is the state's witness, but his name is not even on the ticket, it'll get thrown out, you did nothing wrong and ignore the haters that always say "just pay it" they think they are perfect and love to preach they never do anything "wrong" yea right.

 

- Now I wonder if we'll hear from the OP

Hmmmm - 3 years of Law School are not needed for me to call on your analysis - read prior posts - LEO's, in many locales, DO NOT NEED TO SIGN A TICKET - what part of this are you incapable of understanding

"....you did nothing wrong" - again Hmmmm, judge and jury, as well as an eye witness to the ticket are we

Pay it - man up - of course that may be a really new thought process for you

 

So you must have been there to witness it? You would be foolish to believe a kids claim that a cop did him wrong when he is driving around in a vette with loud exhaust.

I don't think they claim to have done nothing wrong. They just state he should be a man and own up to his actions like I hope all the others would do.

But this is America so you can always follow the American way and point your finger at somebody else while complaining that its not your fault.

 

If the officer didn't sign the citation, it's no big deal and don't expect the citation to be "thrown out" as some of the other posted have claimed. The Administrative Assistant in the traffic division will simply do an "amendment letter" to the court. We do them all the time whenever there is a mistake of any kind on a citation. I sign amendment letters everyday. A copy of the amendment letter will be sent to you and a copy of the letter will also be attached to the orginal copy of the citation before it's ever sent over to the court to be processed. It's a routine procedure, as mistakes are made everyday on tickets by officers.

 

It seems every time somebody posts about trying to get out of a ticket a huge group of people say "just pay the ticket and get on with your life."

I'm sure if it were an option to just pay the ticket and be done with it, there wouldn't be nearly as much of a fuss about something as trivial as a traffic citation.

The truth is that (especially for us younger guys) getting ANY insurance company to cover us on our cars is damn near impossible and if we do the rates are quite large. There was a post not long ago about a guy who had was with an ins company for years and had multiple cars. He bought a vette and the ins company wouldn't touch it.

The point is this: if "manning up" means paying out the wazoo for years to come and possibly having your coverage canceled for something that's questionable, then there's a serious problem with being a man because it's like walking around with a huge target on your wallet.

This being said, many people gladly pay the fine if they're able to get their citation reduced to non-moving violation. There's also a reason law firms get $200+ to get rid of a $150 ticket.

In this particular situation (and many others) people often make the mistake of thinking that they have a good defense. The problem here is that ticket fines are an income to the state and there's absolutely no reason for them to let you off completely. Lawyers bargain their way out of a moving violation by getting the court to change the charge to a lesser violation. The courts still get their money either way.

The ONLY way to get off completely without a lawyer once you have the ticket is to plead your case to the DA (who doesn't profit from ticket fines) and try to convince them your citation was unjust.

 

The OP, according to his profile, is in S. Carolina, not California. So, unless I missed something, I think his ticket is in S.C.

 

These threads never really accomplish anything but the usual cop bashing and "free legal advice" from non lawyers who think they know what they are talking about...

How about we all sit back and let the OP go to court and tell us the outcome. Then some of us can pat ourselves on the back for giving such sage advice or predicting the outcome while the others will just crawl away and wait for the next similiar thread to pop up...