So, you got a speeding ticket. After the police officer leaves, there you are, with an official document in hand. You are unhappy. Your basic fight or flight or freeze response has you in its grip. You feel guilty, angry, shocked, insulted, humiliated, outraged or some combination thereof. Your heart rate is elevated; you’re stressing about money or points or the wife or the boss or just about everything. What happens next is up to you…
Secure in the knowledge that they haven’t had a ticket in ten years, some drivers figure they won’t get another ticket in another ten years. They pay the fine promptly and forget it. These folks are unhappy when the insurance bill, Abuser Fee, or Driver Responsibility Assessment comes in– at which point it’s usually too late to do a damn thing about it.
By the same token, some drivers simply ignore the ticket. They are even less happy when the suspension notice comes, or worse, when they’re pulled over again and [perhaps] taken to jail for “failed to answer ticket.”
Some drivers talk to a few friends, troll the internet and discuss it (or NOT) with their significant other and decide to contest the ticket. They arm themselves with a smattering of speed detection device theory, a few legal buzzwords and maybe some information (often valid in some other jurisdiction). Delighted with the “fresh knowledge” that radar and laser guns are far from infallible, and that other speeders fought the law and the law lost, they head off to court.
[As a lawyer specializing in motoring offenses, my office motto is “never take your legal advice from real estate agents, police officers or the internet”– present editorial excluded, of course. If you actually want to win your case, a local attorney with relevant experience is worth every penny.]
Some jurisdictions allow motorists to “call ahead” for a court date. Do not discuss the ticket with the Court Clerk. The Clerk’s heard every story in the history of the world ever. Beyond verification of your mailing address and scheduling your court date, he/she is not interested, and he/she has no authority to “make it go away” (the secret hope of every defendant in the world). Rudeness to a clerk will ensure that you get no consideration in scheduling preferences, should such a thing be available.
Speeding and other motoring offenses are “processed” in many different ways around the country. In many cases, the alleged perpetrator goes to court, waits forever, pleads not guilty, and then waits another eternity for a trial date. The potential “deal” that you can make on a ticket also varies widely. Just because your buddy got a “parking ticket” reduction a few years ago in another town is meaningless to the Judge in YOUR town.
Some places, notably New York City Traffic Violations Bureau, refuse to deal at all. To put it kindly, they are relentlessly pro-prosecution. Other jurisdictions will favor the motorist, or at least give them a fair shake. As any good attorney will tell you, Judges also vary widely, from by-the-book/throw the book at you to “lenient.” Traffic court is no exception.
When Court day arrives, dress decently and leave your attitude at home. The correct mindset: assertive, not aggressive. You are now on government (a.k.a. geologic) time, so bring a book. Cell phones, iPods and Blackberries are frowned upon in most courtrooms; a ringing cell phone during a session can punt you to the last case of the day. One of the basic rules of Civil Service: “We are here all day… YOU can be too!” Being polite and courteous counts in this arena.
Come to Court, sign in and wait. You may be called to discuss your case with the Prosecutor or Police officer who wrote you up. They may make you an offer (that you can refuse). If you’ve studied your state’s point system, you’ll have an idea what’s at stake.
The Judge and Prosecutor are not there to give you legal advice; don’t expect it and don't be disappointed if you don’t get it. In most places where negotiation is allowed, you’ll be offered something. I find that an attorney will normally be able to secure “the best deal in the house.” If you're a “frequent flier” or just don’t feel confident playing this game, again, a lawyer is a wise investment.
At the time of the offer, do NOT launch into your carefully rehearsed and novel (to you) arguments as to why the ticket was in error/illegal. The police officer or Prosecutor in front of you has but one answer to any such suggestion: “I’ll mark you for trial at the end of the calendar.”
Next up, next Thursday: your day in court.
good advice, nice post. Thanks for the information!
Another fallacy is that you can beat a ticket by scheduling the hearing for the cop’s day off. Good luck with that one.
I got pulled over once for cutting a guy off. At court, I realized that anyone that pled innocent was getting a future court date, so I pled guilty with an explanation. I got to cross examine the officer and pointed out that he was at such an angle that he couldn’t really see how far apart we were. My explanation was that I was following a “sports car” (it was a Porsche – I didn’t want to sound like a pistonhead) that was passing a slow driver on the right. When I said that the slow driver suddenly seemed to have a change of heart and sped up, the judge said, “Oh, one of those.” Dismissed.
In Maryland always go to court. It will always be reduced.
As a NY Traffic Attorney, are you at all familiar with the town of Liberty NY along Route 17? The speed trap capital of NY.
Be aware that the “deal” you may cut could still bite you in the ass. Make sure that whatever discount they are offering is all you will have to do/pay to get the ticket taken care of.
I had a speeding offense about five years ago. I went in for the first court appearance and spoke to the court representative. He offered to reduce the ticket by $100 right there. That sounded worth it to not take a second day off work.
Well a week later I got a letter stating I had, as part of my reduced ticket, agreed to got to a “driver retraining” class. The class was $60, and required me to travel an hour each way to get there. So in the end I saved $40, and wasted an entire evening with the class.
Awesome! I contested an illegal passing ticket about a month ago and I’m sending in the documentation to contest it today. If they have me come to court, I’ll be sure to check out the next installment!
@RGS920
My parents live in upstate NY and I used to live downstate and while, I no longer live down there, I still take Rt. 17 at least twice a year…I have never made it through that town without seeing a cop pulling someone over…Right in front of their station no less. Personally I’ve always paid a lot of attention and not gotten bitten.
I got a ticket on the NYS Thruway around Syracuse…It was about 3 hours from where I lived and I wasn’t going to do 6 hours roundtrip to fight a ticket. I called the local DA…talked to an extremely nice ADA who said that it was normally 2 points (“Failure to Obey a Traffic Device”) and $30 (not including court fees), but could be up to 4 points and multiple hundreds of dollars. She said that I should plea not guilty by mail and the DA would send me an offer. Which he did…2 points (didn’t count against my insurance) and $60 (court fees were as expensive as the ticket). Done and done. Yeah, I probably could have gone to court ($5 in tolls + $40 in gas + 6 hours of my life) and maybe I could’ve gotten it tossed, or been lucky b/c the cop didn’t show or something…but let’s be honest…for the same reason that I buy bottles of water after the airport security checkpoints @ $3 a bottle (convenience), I paid my $60 and was happy. I was speeding when I got stopped and I had no points on my license.
I did get a ticket in France (I’ve got a French license too)…when is TTAC going to tell me how to fix that? Here you’re guilty until proven guilty as far as I can tell. you have no recourse after being “flashed” by those asshole cameras.
There are many, MANY reasons to contact an attorney for traffic offenses. Here are two:
In Florida, you don’t have to take the time to go to court, and the major firms have an attorney stationed in the courthouse at all times who usually build a decent rapport with the police officers.
If the police officer didn’t write notes about you being an a-hole on his citation, when approached by the attorney prior to trial starting, he will usually gladly cut a deal, especially if that is the only case he is there for (since he still gets paid his overtime minimum but can leave very quickly).
Yes, I know Liberty well. All of Rt. 17 is a happy hunting grounds as there is no hard median, meaning it is one of the few interstate speed roads where the cop can zap you with opposite lane moving mode and do a U turn. Also, watch being shot in the back from the raised on ramps. NYSP does not have unmarked, but the slick-tops and the cop-maro (in black, not normal blue/gold) will burst Ka at you from the rear while sitting at the top of the ramps.