I got the stupidest ticket on Saturday on the way to watch some illegal street races. Anyways, I was in a line of cars, heading to the 1/4 mile stretch and we turn left at a stop light. The light is yellow and I pull through at 10mph. Cop screams by and pulls me over along with 4 other cars. Ok, now was I doing anything wrong here?
He gives me a ticket for running a red turn signal in an intersection. First of all, it was yellow and turned red as I was going through. Second of all, if I braked for the light, I would have been hit from behind because there car behind me was tailgating me.
Now, my court date is set to January 15th and I just wanted some tips on what to say to the judge. I got some witnesses that are going to come with me and help. So I need some tips, some things to say. Will I win automatically if the cop doesnt show? He was obviously pulling me over cause he didnt like street races in the middle of no where.
hey from my one time experiance in court for speeding say" YES" AND “SIR” “YES SIR” “i understand” if anything and tell him your point of view etc. dont say “yeah” or “uhuh”
This is what I have noticed when Im in court…a cop writes notes about a specific ticket that u dont see on the copy he/she gives u, usually attached for the judge is his/her observations and/or prove like radar readings and witness accounts(all this is signed under oath)…usually if a cop doesnt show up to the hearing…doesnt mean that they cant tell their side of the story but it does leave room for speculation if a question arises in court…so it helps in that aspect…
as for ur situation…just tell them the truth like just what u said…ur fate lies in the hands of that judge…it doesnt matter how many witnesses are there to back u up…if the judge favors against…immediately appeal and fight it again…usually the second time around u can get it off…Ive seen it done in court before…goodluck to u.
Speaking from experience of the first three times, out of thirty that I went to court, just say; “Your honor as I approached the intersection, looking out for other traffic, I only noticed the light was yellow as I crossed through it… so I don’t believe I did anything wrong”. And If u r a young driver, throw in something about resposibilty,wanting to be home on time, and not breaking curfew… Or… if u r hit with a fine or something, before the judge bangs the gavel… turn around and run like hell… lol…
make sure you tell them that the light was still yellow as you passed through…if it changed to red while you were under it, it is considered running a red light (at least in florida it is)
If the pig testifies that he pulled you over because he observed you running a red light then that’s B.S. because he also pulled 4 other cars over and I doubt they all ran the light. I was in a similar sittuation when I got caught at a roadblock with 3 other cars at our local streetracing spot. A pig then gives me 3 tickets for “blue turn signals” and “exhaust”. In court the pig said he observed my lights and exhaust and that’s why he pulled me over. LIAR! I said he couldn’t have observed my lights & exhaust cause I wasn’t using my signals and I was driving slowly. After I ran into the roadblock the pig walked up to me and asked me to turn on my hazards and rev the engine. After all that I got the exhaust ticket dismissed and the light tickets reduced. In NYC if your already entering the intersection while the light is yellow then you are not running the light. Pigs will usually pull people over at streetraces and then try to find something to ticket them for. Good luck.
Plead guilty, ask for a fine reduction, and ask for traffic school. If it turned red while you were anywhere INSIDE the intersection, you are guilty in California.
never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever!!!, plead guilty. First of all, there is no point in even taking it to court if you do. Second, you will recieve an additional fine for waisting court time ( my friend did this, I know). If I were you, I would get a public defender, cause you could say the exact same thing they will, but the judge will take what they say into Higher consideration than what you say. Dress nice, and show respect towards the judge with everything you say, and you should be fine. It also helps alot if you can get your parents to go to court with you and have your public defender point it out to the judge that they are there. ( I got a DUI dropped to a neg 3 by following these guidlines) Best of luck to you!
Its so fu(ked up how we get discriminated against by people and cops for having nice cars! But if we had a Bmer or a Mercedes, they wouldn’t even bother. Jerks I tell you Jerks! I’ve had my fair share of runins with cops and they don’t even listen to you and accuse you of things that your are obviously not at fault for!
As for your court thing. Just tell the truth and that its not fair how this discrimination occurs and “racial profiling” is what you are stopped for!
But I’m still mad about this, as you can tell, and now I just try not to drive my car at all, but at the same time I’m not slowing down cuz a cop is going slower than the speed limit (I usually pass them) or stop for them! I have the right away dammit! Dumb po po’s!
Sucha brain washing role playing job. They should have cops go through a anger management and psychology classes BEFORE getting the job, then periodically having surprise inspections of them while on the job. Our tax paying dollars should go to this instead of the wasted crap like more money for our inmates! Funk that! And I think that cops SHOULD BE punished EXACTLY the same way that a regular pedistrian would be treated if they shoot a gun or kill someone (I.e. running someone off the road to stop them.) The whole US justicec system is so corrupted!
And Definately PLEAD GUILTY! But then give your reason why its all corrupted and the cop has the upperhand. And that your opinion and view on the matter is JUST AS VALID as the cops.
Sum tips: Alwayz plead “not guilty” or “no contest” in court, depending on your level of innocence. Never admit your "guilty "in court. Fines/sentence are actually lesser on a “no contest” plea and your not admitting guilt at the same time, the court just finds u guilty based on the evidence…if the officer does not show, your case should be dismissed. Keep your ticket on you. Dress apropriately. Be prompt. Try to represent yourself to save money/hassle on a lawyer. If u need legal advice, try and get it “off the record” if thats possible, to help save yourself $$$. Do all the little things, u may not be aware but the judge is. Ask questions of the judge/officer and speak loud & clear. Check into the officer’s background to see if he/she has any prior citizen compliants against them and if so present it to the court as evidence against them. As a last resort, see if u could get community service in lieu of fines if thats possible, if u got more time than money.
The biggest thing in my mind is to have a valid arguement and present yourself very nicely. With experience both myself (just got one today for the license…lets play cops…haha) and with my friends, wear nice clothes…I’m always wearing a tie and looking good, with all the evidence and codes in hand neatly prepared. If there is anything u need to give the judge or show, make sure its looking good, typed, etc. People in life give you a lot on how you present yourself and how u look (prolly the reason we get pulled over so much!). Just try to be polite and dont be talking ghetto slang, say yes your honor and be polite and dont lose your cool. Oh, u have to have a good arguement too. Dont say you were goin to illegal races…just say a bunch of imports were meeting up to check each others cars…if they ask about racing say u knew nothing of the sort and that you never have and never will race on the street because of the stupidity of it. (hope u believe this!)
Have fun…stand up for your self and dont let authority abuse its power!
Jim
Thanks for all your tips. Ill be sure to dress nice, and I am going to plead not guilty. My parents are going with me to court and they have my back 100%. As well with the 3 witnesses that are helping me. Hope that pig gets a new job after he messes with me. =o)
for my stickers on my window, well its a fix it ticket really. plus the cop said i was impending traffic. funny how i came 2 a stop because the cop blocked every1 off.
by the way i had the situation as u did. i have 2 go2 court adn tell the judge that the cop that wrote the ticket wasnt even there so how does he know that iwas impending traffic
i don’t think anyone has mentioned this yet: but like asian buddha was saying… it helps if you supena (spelling?) the cop to show and then call and change the court date (say you can’t make it on that day and they will change it to a later date) this will help your chances of the cop not showing because by then he might forget. usually you are scheduled for a certain day because that is that cops day to show in court (it’s convenient for him)… so if you change it to a different day of the week, there is a good chance that he would have to make an extra trip to the court room just for your little ticket, and he might not think it’s worth the hassle.
then like everyone said, dress nice (no baddy pants)… address teh judge as sir and try to come off as honest. don’t admit to anything illegal.
good luck.
sometimes you get lucky and the officer doesn’t file it right and you’re automatically off…
Well, I see things a little differently then a lot of you. From my experiences, if you are guilty, plea guilty. It is increadably hard to disprove a cop, even if you are innocent. Research the offence on the ticket, it should have a legal code section # on it. If you didn’t violate the section as it is written in the official legal code for your state, plea innocent, qoute the code, and call your witnesses. If you are guilty by the book, don’t even try to pull anything smart, because the judges know the law. And if the cop doesn’t show (happened to me the last time i was in court) ask for a motion to dismiss. If the case is dismissed, you are free UNLESS THE COP REFILES. If he refiles, you have to go to court again, if he doesn’t, you are free and nothing goes on your record. In the end, if you plea guilty around where I live, you almost always get the minimum sentence, but if you plea innocent and lose, they usually slam you with the most they can. Good luck, though.
i think only the rear quarter of your car is allowed before the end of the intersection when the light turns red. or none?
if you plead innocent, you will be given another appointment to present your case. if the cop then doesnt show, its dropped. its a gamble there unless you have good backup. i dont think you do.
or you could just plead guilty and ask for a reduction… or he’ll offer driving school (TAKE IT).
my take is you dont have to worry, court is no big deal. the judge really doesnt like wasting his time on these things. he just wants to get you guys in and out quickly. usually they’re not assholes, theyll give you the reduction if they can. sometimes they’ll just tell you they’re giving the reduction w/o you even asking. good luck.
btw, i forget the difference between “guilty” and “no contest” and what the effects are.
Originally posted by prettyboy
[B]Plead guilty, ask for a fine reduction, and ask for traffic school. If it turned red while you were anywhere INSIDE the intersection, you are guilty in California.
Dang i hate tickets [/B]
Not true… As long as your tires are past the line when it’s yellow… You are legal… look it up.
Best of luck to you!