NFB: went to court for speeding ticket

[MikeE24]

I was wondering if this sounds right to any of y'all. I go to court today to fight a speeding ticket. The officer who gave the ticket isn't there tho. One of the city prosecuters (pardon the spelling) tells me that since he isn't there, I have the option of pleading guilty or my trial would be rescheduled for a day i am not going to be in town. When i asked what would happen if I couldn't be there on said date I was informed a warrant for my arrest would be issued. So I am forced to plea guilty on account of the officer not showing up or indicating at all how he knew my speed. (btw that's why the prosecutor said he couldn't handle the case today) So I was wondering if anything like this has happend to anyone else here or if that sounded close to legally right to anyone w/ any knowledge on the subject.

[TODD 2000 V6 CAMARO]

I wouldn't listen to the prosecutor too much. They nay try to steer you into screwing yourself over. I would either ask to speak to the judge or a court clerk, or a defense attorney. You may even have luck asking a different officer. I have always heard that if the officer isn't there then the case is thrown out. But I'm not totally sure on that. Now whether or not the officer told you how he knew you were speeding is irrelevant, because he doesn't have to. They can judge your speed in any of three ways: Radar/laser, matching your speed with their vehicle, or using the speed of surrounding traffic as a reference to how fast you are going. There may be other ways, but I'm not sure. My advice: if you were actually speeding, suck it up and pay the ticket or ask to get it deferred. If you weren't speeding, ask someone like I mentioned above, about your rights. Just my $0.02 Hope it helps.

[MikeE24]

Well, the main problem I'm having w/ all of this is I didn't think I was speeding. I wanted to go to court. The prosecutor is the one who specified that the officer didn't note how he knew I was speeding. I didn't even bring it up to him. I could be wrong on this but I thought the burden of proof was on the prosecution. (innocent until proven otherwise) Now the end result of all this is I won't be able to afford summer tuition plus books so looks like summer term is going to be spent working. That's really what's leaving the bad taste in my mouth about the whole thing.

[N20LT4Bird]

WRONG!!!! If you didnt show up to the trial, do you think they would reschedule for you???? NO! - you would lose. THe prosecutions key witness was not there for the trial. They were unprepared. They lose. Plain and simple. I would contact the judge. If the judge gives you the same bulls$#t, I would be contacting the "board of judicial review". Make that known to the judge and follow through if he doesnt find in your favor. I hate this kind of stuff - this kind of corruption should not be tolerated!

[fastTa]

If you honestly feel that you were not speeding, then by all means neccesary, fight it until you are blue in the face!

If they don't seem to be giving in, then respectfully request that they at least reduce the charge to a *Non Moving Violation*. That would not go on your driving record and would cost you significantly less dinero.

[Overworked]

I know for FACT in GA state law STATES CLEARLY that the officer MUST appear in court with the ALL documents for calibration of equipment etc. or the case is tossed out.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Originally posted by Overworked
I know for FACT in GA state law STATES CLEARLY that the officer MUST appear in court with the ALL documents for calibration of equipment etc. or the case is tossed out.

When I went to court in Gwinnett County Georgia, There were 3 choice to plead. Guilty in which they sentenced you right there, No low which is not guilty but pay fine to make go away, or not guilty in which it was rescheduled for trial. The officer was not there.

[MN6WS6]

The law as I understand it is if the cop no-shows, then the ticket never existed. Torn up, case closed. At least that's how it works in Mobile.

[FROGGER13]

fight it till the end, ur not gonna pay more if u lose!maybe he wont show up again(hopefully hes on vacation). my friend had a similar case and the first court date the cop didnt show,so they dismissed it.

[CLWILSON]

In my area when you get a ticket you have to appear on or before the date on the ticket. At that time you can either pay the fine, plead not guilty schedule a hearing in front of the judge with the officer present, or you can plead your case to the judge without the officer present, but I believe when you do that you are admitting guilt but just giving an explanation as to what happened.

[Joe 1320]

Seems to me were're dealing with a differeance in terminology. I most states you have one court date. Evidently some states have a two step process.

Typically when you get a ticket, you have a choice to either pay or request a court hearing. Usually you either pay by mail or send in the ticket with a court date request. Some states may make you do this in person instead of by mail. This is not a court date yet!
The court will then schedule a date. If the officer doesn't show at that time, the case is dismissed. If you can't be there and really even if you can, get youself an attorney if you don't think you're guilty. There are traffic lawyers in your area that deal with nothing but this stuff. It will end up costing you about the same no matter which way you go unless you show up in person and the case is dismissed due to failure to appear by the witnessing officer. Traffic attorneys can get the charges either reduced, no points, dismissed, etc... they know how to negotiate when necessary. not only that, there appears to be a higher percentage of officers that don't show up when the offending party has legal representation. Go figure....

You also have the option of driver imnprovement school that allows you to take a 4 hour class, pay court costs and the points are not assessed. Basically a "get out ot jail almost free" card. You can't continuually do this, each state has a limit, usually between 3 and 5 times in your lifetime.

Understand this is a cash cow for the city. The income generated is staggering... they will do and say what they can to collect the $$$........ as long as you understand the way they think, there is a way to beat their system.

Most every state has all the statutes online. By reading those, you also get to see what your rights are. Ways to request a different trial date by requesting previous records like calibration documents of the radar units, previous conviction rate of the particular officer, etc........ give you any ideas?

Hope this helps.

[N20LT4Bird]

Originally posted by Jeff 95 Z28
When I went to court in Gwinnett County Georgia, There were 3 choice to plead. Guilty in which they sentenced you right there, No low which is not guilty but pay fine to make go away, or not guilty in which it was rescheduled for trial. The officer was not there.

THis is just the arraignment.......thats when you plead. The cop doesnt go to the arraignment, just the trial. When you plead not guilty at the arraignment, they dont RE-schedule the trial, they just schedule it. If he doesnt show to the TRIAL, you win! The prosecution (the state) must be prepared to present the case to the judge. They can try to talk you into rescheduling and even make you think you have to, but when nuts come to crack, they lose if they are unprepared.

Ive done this more times than I can count - ive had a fast car from the time I was 16 - thats an instant ticket no matter what youre doing Ive learned how the system works.....if I didnt my license would have been long gone.

[Joe 1320]

Originally posted by N20LT4Bird


Ive done this more times than I can count - ive had a fast car from the time I was 16 - thats an instant ticket no matter what youre doing Ive learned how the system works.....if I didnt my license would have been long gone.

Hmmm.... that sounds strangely familiar.

[MikeE24]

sorry if I wasn't clear but this was in fact the trial date. I already entered the not guilty plea. But I've noticed the same thing about having a fast car as N20LT4Bird. I wasn't pulled over for over 5 yrs. driving my honda. Since getting the TA I've been pulled over three times(only had it 2 1/2 months!). I thought I had even been driving more defensive in since buying the TA but I guess that can't make the bullseye on my car go away. Thanx for the advice everyone.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Originally posted by N20LT4Bird
THis is just the arraignment.......thats when you plead. The cop doesnt go to the arraignment, just the trial. When you plead not guilty at the arraignment, they dont RE-schedule the trial, they just schedule it. If he doesnt show to the TRIAL, you win! The prosecution (the state) must be prepared to present the case to the judge. They can try to talk you into rescheduling and even make you think you have to, but when nuts come to crack, they lose if they are unprepared.

Ive done this more times than I can count - ive had a fast car from the time I was 16 - thats an instant ticket no matter what youre doing Ive learned how the system works.....if I didnt my license would have been long gone.

Well on the ticket it says trial date not arraignment date. You're probably right and the ticket just has the wrong verbiage on it.