Get a ticket and need advice? Serious help inside...

[iloveboost]

In lieu of all of the posts about needing help with traffic citations, I decided to make a post to help all of those that are in need of a little guidance. Typically you'd have to pay for advice this good, but being the kind and benevolent person I am, I offer it to you guys at no charge!

Helpful tip #1: Don't break the law.
Helpful tip #2: Don't be dumb enough to get caught.
Helpful tip #3: If tips 1 & 2 don't work, hire a lawyer.

That is all.

[2.0civic]

that is awesome advice! +1 for you!

[ep9716]

Lulz.....This Will Help In The Long Run THANKS!

[iloveboost]

Lulz.....This Will Help In The Long Run THANKS!
Anything I can do to help.

[Doppelgänger]

but teh cops be hatin' n stuffs... i aint do nuttin wong, day jus be pullin me ova fo no rezon!!!!

[Tinton]

Most speed limits are bullshit.

For instance, the speed limit is 55 mph on most of I-285. I bet 99% of you don't go that slow. Hell, traffic on there is usually going 75 or 80.

[cactusEG]

In lieu of all of the posts about needing help with traffic citations, I decided to make a post to help all of those that are in need of a little guidance. Typically you'd have to pay for advice this good, but being the kind and benevolent person I am, I offer it to you guys at no charge!

Helpful tip #1: Don't break the law.
Helpful tip #2: Don't be dumb enough to get caught.
Helpful tip #3: If tips 1 & 2 don't work, hire a lawyer.

That is all.

ppls will read this a never get it in their heads...

[Maniaç]

Here's another tip, Whores lounge queers will never take anything seriously... the kills people would, next time you are thinking on making a thread like this do it over there.. you'll get alot more and better replys.

peace.

[thepolecat]

Most speed limits are bullshit.

For instance, the speed limit is 55 mph on most of I-285. I bet 99% of you don't go that slow. Hell, traffic on there is usually going 75 or 80.

Yeah but if you go below 65 you will get killed by someone running up your ass

[Leadfoot_mf]

thanks for the info i followed your advice today and i was not stopped by the popo's what a nice change.

[Driftk1d350z]

great advice

[iloveboost]

Most speed limits are bullshit.

For instance, the speed limit is 55 mph on most of I-285. I bet 99% of you don't go that slow. Hell, traffic on there is usually going 75 or 80.
Then follow tip #2... don't get caught.

LOL @ leadfoot

[Black R]

I posted this a LONG time ago on another forum, but hopefully it'll help you our more than Daniels' post:

************************************************** *********

First of all, you NEVER win when you fight the law.

Why?

Because you spend time going to arraignment, getting continuances, driving back and forth, taking off work, etc... So you lose time and money doing these things. (More so if you actually have to go to trial, hire an attorney, etc...)

But I must admit that I learn something new every time I go to court. This time I learned that in GA, police officers must be able to visually identify how fast a vehicle is going before they can ever write a ticket. That means that they don't need any device to PROVE that you were speeding - their word is admissible in court as proof. Radar, laser, etc, are just icing on the cake at this point.

Here's my story though:

I got pulled over on 10/2/2003 after a Thursday Varsity meet while on 85N near the Beaver Ruin exit. I was next to an unnamed 2nd car, and we both ended up getting pulled over and ticketed. I received 1 ticket for "RACING," and 1 ticket for 40-6&8 (speeding) - 90 in a 65. This was determined by "patrol car," as indicated on the tickets. I expected to go to jail when he stopped me, so I was happy with the tickets at the time.

Ok, so I've bent a few laws in the past... But I've also gone to court quite a few times and gotten charges dropped or dismissed almost every time. How? Well there are a few common things that I've found which seem to work well. And all counties have different leniencies as well as procedures.

This latest episode was in Gwinnett, which I feel is quite lenient (compared to others) in certain areas - such as reducing fines/ sentences. But they are also somewhat strict if you simply plead guilty or nolo contendre without first negotiating with the solicitor.

Basically what I did was go to court and plead "not guilty." It is also important that you never make any admission of guilt - even if you are guilty.

Now the reason for pleading "not guilty" is simple if you understand how traffic courts work: for the most part, it's a revenue center. That is all. If you get pulled over for doing say 70 in a 55, you can do one of two things: go to court, or just mail in the fine. I look at it like playing cards - you get dealt a bad hand, and you can either fold or stay in the game.

But I can tell you it's been my experience that you almost always come out better off if you go to court (providing you do the right things). I mean, what do you have to lose?

#1 starts when you get pulled over. BE POLITE. Be cordial. BE NICE. Don't argue with the officer, but rather kill him with kindness. You want one of two things to happen; A - he lets you off with a warning, or B - he writes you a ticket (hopefully for a lower/ lesser offense) and promptly forgets you and anything associated with the incident. This is important if you actually have to go to court and plea your case.

Hopefully you get off with a warning, but in the event the officer is not so nice, you'll get a ticket with a court date on it.
Every county seems to be different as far as tickets go - so read it over thoroughly. Sometimes typo's can get your case thrown out.
I know that Gwinnett County Police (and maybe all of GA) tickets have a box to check for "driver requested accuracy check." If you were speeding, they have to note HOW they determined you were speeding. Ask for an accuracy check. NICELY. Say "sir, I would like to ask for an accuracy check please." This may be important again if you have to actually try your case. They may or may not grant your request, but it never hurts to ask.

Well, my court date was 1/5/2004, so I had some time before my arraignment. I read up on the statutes and codes I was charged with violating.
Things didn't look good for me with the racing ticket, so I thought I should get some legal advice.

Luckily I heard about a "street racing lawyer" and how he got Bee and Willie off for their racing tickets. I called the number I had for him and found out hat it was just a prepaid legal services representative. Basically, it's like insurance in case you need a lawyer. And you just pay a monthly fee for membership (~$20). But if you sign up after you've already gotten a ticket, then it's not a free after your membership dues (otherwise it would be). You simply get a reduced cost for the services you need.

I signed up and got some advice over the phone from a lawyer. I was also pretty broke at the time, so I went to court and asked for a continuance (postponement). They scheduled my court date for 2/4/2004.
When I went back in February, I asked for another continuance. They weren't happy with that request, but they gave it to me (considering the seriousness of the offenses and the fact that I didn't yet have a lawyer). I believe you can get a maximum of two continuances before you have to enter in a plea. (Otherwise, you could theoretically keep getting perpetual continuances forever and never have to face the music.....)

This gave me enough time to sign up for the prepaid legal services, as well as speak to a lawyer and get a game plan together.

My next court date was 3/8/2004.
Again, this is just the arraignment - where you enter a plea and then they assign you a court date 6-8 months later. As you can see, it had been 5 months already before I even entered a plea. This is a long time for an officer to remember back to if they have to testify against you (think about how many other people they've pulled over in the meantime).
And it could actually be a year before you actually have to go to court and have your case tried.

#2. ALWAYS FIGHT THE TICKET.
I always enter in a plea of "not guilty." Why? Because they will almost always reduce the charge as an incentive to get you to plea guilty or nolo contendere and PAY TODAY. Remember, it's a revenue center. They don't want to waste money to prosecute you further, so they'd rather make a deal with you in order to get you to pay today.
Every court is different though.

In Atlanta City Court, you sometimes meet with the solicitor beforehand to discuss your case and negotiate a plea. In Gwinnett, you are called, enter your plea ("not guilty" please!), and if you are pleading "not guilty," they ask you to have a seat until they've called everyone at least once. Then they give the whole courtroom a lecture on how futile it is to fight anything but guilty or nolo contendre pleas...

THEN, they call you back up and talk to you about your case. It is at this time you can actually negotiate with the solicitor. Tell your story. Lie a little, to your advantage of course - because you aren't under oath at this time.

Hopefully, while you were waiting you got to see other people being called, and how the solicitor was handling their cases and treating them. In this way, you can prepare yourself to talk to the solicitor - you can get an idea of how flexible or lenient they will be.

If they are throwing the book at each and every person, leave and come back another day. Simply ask for a continuance. Say you have an emergency, need to get back to work, stomach pains, or need to speak to a lawyer before entering in a plea. (Or you can simply leave and come back another day before a bench warrant gets issued - which can take ~2 months.)

That way, you can come back and hopefully catch the solicitor in a good mood or a different one who will be easier to negotiate with.
Now after entering in a "not guilty" plea and being called to speak to the solicitor, explain why it wasn't you. Say you had cruise set at 55, and blah blah blah: "my car is green and the officer wrote blue on the ticket," or "he didn't comply with my request for an accuracy check," etc.

Here's how my talk with the solicitor went:
Solicitor: "tell me about this incident."
Me: "this car is over 10 years old, and the muffler fell off while I was driving. I think the officer heard the loudness of the car and thought I was going faster than I was..."
Solicitor: "what about the 'racing' charge?"
Me: "there was a car next to me yelling something about 'you've got a missing muffler back there...!' and I was yelling back to them: 'what?' because it was so loud I couldn't hear them."
Solicitor: "what about the 'speeding' charge?"
Me: I guess the officer thought I was speeding because of the noise."
Solicitor: "maybe your speedometer is off on your 'old' car.....?"
Me: ".....?" *shrug*
Solicitor: "These are very serious charges, blah blah blah....., I will be able to give you a reduced charge of 'reckless driving' instead of 'racing,' and drop the other charge of 'speeding.' It's a $176 fine and you have to take a defensive driving course. It is usually 6 points on your license, but you can plead "nolo contendre" or "guilty." Nolo will save you 4 points, so you'll only get 2 on your license."

Naturally I took the deal.
It came to $220 after surcharges.
Now here's the kicker, what if I WAS SPEEDING (upwards of 120mph), AND I WAS RACING (several highway pulls from downtown to Duluth)???
:P Double JEOPARDY is a muthafucka! ;)

So you see, they never lose - but I got off pretty easy (again). :)
I'm not a laywer, but I hope this can help out some other people - as I'm not the only one who has fractured the occasional law. :) (In the past..... ;))

[Driftk1d350z]

damn thats a lot to read...

cliff notes? :)

[Z32redondo]

damn thats a lot to read...

cliff notes? :)

Better just to read the whole thing.

[B18c1Turboed]

Helpful tip #1: Don't break the law.
.

Spoken from a man that goes out and street races all the time!!!

[iloveboost]

Spoken from a man that goes out and street races all the time!!!
And spoken from a man that doesn't get caught and can afford to hire a good attorney. :D

And this is great advice.

#2. ALWAYS FIGHT THE TICKET.
I always enter in a plea of "not guilty." Why? Because they will almost always reduce the charge as an incentive to get you to plea guilty or nolo contendere and PAY TODAY. Remember, it's a revenue center. They don't want to waste money to prosecute you further, so they'd rather make a deal with you in order to get you to pay today.
Every court is different though.

[BTLFED]

As many times as people whine about getting a ticket on here, maybe I should sticky this lol