To fight or not to fight a ticket...

[Awesome]

Probably a grand. to start. It's free to call, tell them the case and ask for price and advice though.


I'm reminded here of a quote from Nikon
"be polite, be professional, and have a plan to kill everyone at the drop of a dime if you have to"

or something like that.

[ftrain]

call around, from a few hundred for thousands. My speeding ticket in Lowell cost my $700. $500 to the lawyer to discuss this issue behind closed doors and $200 in court fees.

My driving without a valid license and some other things cost me $2000 for a lawyer and $250 in court fees. O yea and also had to have a professional evaluate me. hahahaha I should post the writeup of my evaluation.

[ftrain]

Last year was a bad year for me. 4 different trials and now I am on probation in two different states. Donated over $10k to my lawyers and court systems Go me!!! I am reformed and a responsible citizen now. Wish I wised up earlier....

[WOTEugene]

Always always fight tickets.

I have a date on 8/10 to fight a ticket where I know I'm probably fucked, but gotta take the chance (double-yellow pass).

So far, though, I got out of 3/4 tickets I've fought. In one of those cases I talked my way out of a laser ticket a few years ago So I guess you could say I have a black belt in ticket fighting.

[WOTEugene]

My advice as far general court strategy goes:

1. Magistrates are retarded, chances are, they will tell you to go F yourself. Appeal their ruling for $20 and get a real court date.

2. Remember that there's always a chance he/she won't show up and the ticket is automatically dropped.

3. Before court, prepare your cross-examination for the cop. Structure all of your questions as yes or no questions only. Prepare a "logic tree" of questions - almost like the sort of a chart that telemarketers use. Your objective is to get the cop to counterdict himself and make himself look stupid, which is obviously much easier with yes/no questions rather than giving him open-ended questions.

And the "I've learned my lesson" thing might work with the magistrate, but not in court. DO NOT ADMIT GUILT IN COURT. It doesn't matter if you're guilty as sin. In court it's a game. Put on a good show, make the cop look dumb, and get the judge to like you, and you will win. Be confident, but not cocky.

[Tricky Mike]

Can I put you on retainer?
seriously, though... thanks for the advice.

[Tricky Mike]

I'm reminded here of a quote from Nikon
"be polite, be professional, and have a plan to kill everyone at the drop of a dime if you have to"

or something like that.

I'll bring my nunchucks

[Currently]

PS- Hopefully this thread goes better than the last one... let's keep it civil, OK, cocksuckers?

Depends ... you want me to crash?

[Punjistick]

I think most police departments just assign someone to show up and that's their job. In cohasset, there is a cop and that's all he does.

[WOTEugene]

I think most police departments just assign someone to show up and that's their job. In cohasset, there is a cop and that's all he does.

That only applies to magistrate hearings - the actual cop doesn't show, but a representitive of the police department shows up.

In court, the actual ticketing officer has to show. They do pay the officers overtime for going to court as an incentive to show up, though.

[Kham]

Quote:
Originally Posted by trickphoto View Post

PS- Hopefully this thread goes better than the last one... let's keep it civil, OK, cocksuckers?


Depends ... you want me to crash?

that's my line. you're not allow to use it. ima poke your litle head first with your voodoo doll. feel it yet?

[FuelIsFunToBurn]

I have been through my fair share of appearances, some warranted, some not.

The format is this. Your first appearance is a hearing. A representative of the PD that cited you, plus a representative of the court will hear you plea. They usually offer you a bargain that still fuks you thanks to insurance. You have te option to accept the finding or appeal. Should you appeal the finding of that hearing you get another date where the actual officer is called to be present. Both sides are heard, the court makes a finding of responsible or not responsible. The decision is final unless you are Al Gores son. If the officer doesn't show, you win.

The court does not appreciate it's time being wasted. If it seems you are wasting the courts time, you will pay. This is your calling card. Prove that the officer is wasting the courts time. Get pictures of the scene. Prove that the citation is ridiculous to a reasonable person. This is difficult though. City cops are notorious for being quite reasonable. They don't have time for trivial shite and they hate paperwork. We don't have to go into how I know these things.

The ball is yours.

[Kham]

If the officer doesn't show, you win.

you win but you still get shit from the judge. "son, you need to slow down... blah... blah... blah... " jeez. can i go now?

even the judge couldn't find you guilty without the witness(coc... i mean the fine officer).

[rpete]

My advice as far general court strategy goes:

1. Magistrates are retarded, chances are, they will tell you to go F yourself. Appeal their ruling for $20 and get a real court date.

The clerk-magistrates I've run into seem like reasonable people, perhaps I've just been lucky to get the less uptight of them hearing my citations. I would fully expect that if trickphoto shows up with with a picture of his parking spot (along with his motorcycle parked there) in relation to the road and explains he was carefully (it was 7:30am, no pedestrians, etc) parking, the magistrate would find him not responsible.

And I'd also like to state for the record that staties are all assholes. There's no reason to hand anyone a citation for this, given the information we have.

Good luck!

[Kham]

And I'd also like to state for the record that staties are all assholes. There's no reason to hand anyone a citation for this, given the information we have.

Good luck!

ah... should leave the name calling to me. only one can get ridicule around here.

[Currently]

I wish there was a pill to cure narcissism.

[Kham]

i don't think im narcissism... hate myself and my life. i also wish there's a pill to cure

[Tricky Mike]

So, I finally had my day in court today...
Zero finding. The sun shines on even the dirtiest dog's ass every now and then.

[Kham]

awesome man! oh now i remember this thread. this was before i knew many more people.

[richw]

KEWL keep fighting the good fight

[akira700]

So that means no fine and no insurance increase?
excellent!

[OreoGaborio]

UNBELIEVABLE!!! THEY SHOULD HAVE TAKEN YOUR LICENSE!!! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE!!! Operating on an excluded way is the #1 killer of people killed by a motorcycle while walking on an excluded way... you should have known better!

Glad to hear the good news, bro.

[wortown03]

FIGHT IT!!!! I ALWAYS tell people to appeal their ticket (as I'm handing them that hefty $200 speeding citation). 98 or should I say 93% of the time the judge will overturn the ticket and all you'll be out of is half a days pay of work!!

[Tricky Mike]

98 or should I say 93% of the time the judge will overturn the ticket

I always hear that, but my (limited) personal experience makes me think that's not necessarily the case.
At least it didn't seem to be the case yesterday... I wasn't present for the other hearings (closed doors), but based on some very obviously disappointed peeps coming out of the magistrate's office (at least two went on to request a hearing with a judge) I'm guessing I was in the minority of people who beat the ticket. If my reads on their body language was correct, I was the only one who skated. I also noticed I was the only one in the waiting room with a folder full of documents, too... so maybe (probably) everyone else was ill-prepared.... I can't really say. What I can say is that based on the supporting documentation I brought and the fact that the trooper who issued the ticket wasn't present at my hearing I thought it was going to be a slam dunk. I felt like I had to dance quite a bit and still just barely squeaked by.
Wortown, I assume you're in Law Enforcement. Do you really see 93% walk?

[richw]

3 lawyers told me that if your in Conn. and going to Rocky Hill you will get a reduction from the ADA but it will never go away. I did get a reduction but any attempt at explanantion was talk to the hand