Well, I got a speeding ticket today. Any advice?

Make them work for the money.

you were not tased, beaten, or shot by the occifer. If you think you have a good explanation for speeding....then go to court and state your case. If not...pay the fine and be more careful in the future. Good Luck.

You are no doubt on a terror watch list now - lol!
So sorry. I DO hope you will challenge it creatively - we need to be pushing on every front. Keep us updated!

They will send you a court date and go to court. In my experience, they ALWAYS cut a deal to a lesser charge on traffic tickets. I used to work for a couple of judges. I also recently had a speeding ticket, and that's exactly how it went. The prosecutor approached me before court began - they like things to go as quickly as possible, too. If they offer you one with no points, going to court will have been well worth it (although I found it very upsetting to have to go - but worth it!) Even if they offer you a lower speed infraction and lower points, you may save a lot of money. In my experience, you do not need a lawyer at all. In fact, IMHO, you will be better off without one. This is really a minimal infraction - fifteen over the speed limit. I will be shocked if they don't lower it to a parking fine! Good luck!

I read this somewhere in researching these matters for that "just in case" event. Perhaps it was in the Marc Stevens films. I remember reading/hearing this. Whatever the source, it indicated that the odds are it has been a long time since the equipment was calibrated and if you ask the officer at the scene, it has been known to turn them away without even issuing a citation.

For future reference, in most cases I believe they want you to sign the "ticket" at the scene and you can say you do not wish to do so. You would need to research this so you get the wording precisely right, but the gist of it is, they then say that either you sign or they have to arrest you, so then you say OK, and sign "Under duress" before your signature.

You're going to be found guilty. Don't waste your time with the legal arguments. What you're looking for here is "mercy". When you "act" like a good little citizen and show the proper amount of contrition to feed their egos....you might get a reduced fine.

You're going to argue with a laser gun before a judge? Seriously, unless you can call into question a tiny pin-point laser beam and argue it didn't hit my car....the judge will laugh at you.

You've already told us you were speeding so don't lie when it comes your time in court.

You probably have 2 chances- 1 at the magisterial level....the other in the "real" court. If you don't win at the magisterial level....you might win or gain something at the real court.

Isn't there an option on the ticket for "Plead guilty but request a hearing"? I'd go for that one.

But....since you're going to be found guilty your fine might be reduced. Try the following;

(this assumes you were courteous to the officer....if you weren't then you're on your own)

1. At your "hearing" talk with the officer or prosecutor to see if you can work out a deal- like, lower points, lower fine, the judge not reporting the ruling to the state department of motor vehicles so your insurance company won't found out about your speeding and increase your insurance cost. You might phrase the words like this, "I plead guilty but would state consider lowering the fine or eliminating the points".

2. If the officer doesn't show up......that's sometimes a situation for the ticket being thrown out....but I wouldn't count on it.

3. Dress nice and conservative, be polite and don't act like belligerent.

4. You probably will be asked why you were speeding- tell 'em something like, "I was late for work..."

5. DO NOT try the sovereignty, no drivers license, no victim- no fine, argument.

6. Don't waste your time with the "I can't pay" argument. They have payment plans to suit everyone.

Good luck.

Lets face it...It's not so much the fine but the points on the licence that haunt you for years in terms of higher insurance rates. If you can come to terms with the fact that all they want is your money then I suggest the following.

Plead innocent on the back of the ticket. Mark the box with the greatest extreme on it usually trail by jury. Forget the magistrate hearing that's a bunch of BS. Go for the gusto.

I did this and the during the court date the cop started of by pulling me aside and saying all I was going to do was piss the Judge off for "wasting his time" (hilarious huh?) He also said that I didn't bring a lawyer and that it would not be a good idea to go forward....I held my ground, the cop ran over to the prosecuter, Thats when the "good cop, bad cop" started. The cop said the prosecuter was prepared to argue the case. But wanted to understand what I was doing pushing it this far. I leveled with him and said look, if its the money you want I'll pay. (I was guilty) I let him know it was the points I wanted to avoid. He ran over to the prosecuter wispered in his ear and made me sit a while. 15-20 minutes later theprosecuter walked up to the bench, showed the judge a slip, handed it to the cop, the cop handed it to me and that was it. I had to say a few words to the judge but I got what I wanted...no points.

I did this on 3 occasions. and worked everytime. I have a perfect driving record.

They will not put you infront of a jury for a speeding ticket because they know 11/12 times they will lose....Everyone speeds

Good Luck

For Freedom!

This was in a DMV Hearing Room, as I got my ticket in the NYS DMV zone.

First question I asked was to the cop:

"Did you file a valid cause of action against me?"

He was bewildered and asked the judge for clarification before he answered. Then, the judge briefly explained and said that I'm not being tried for a crime, but for a violation.

So, then I switched over to the standing case.

I recited the part of the NYS Constitution and Declaration of independence that states that governments exist for the sole purpose of maintaining and establishing our rights.

I then went on to standing, and quoted Clifford S. vs. Superior Court that no case would be entertained in a court if standing didn't exist.

Know what his reply was?

It doesn't apply here.

I said, is this not a court?

He answered: "No, this is a hearing room."

I had no idea what to do from there, so I acquiesced. He recommended that I stick to the violation so I told him how I was pulled over when pacing the car in front of me, the car in front of me pulled over as well, but wasn't ticketed, then the court room started getting pissed that they were waiting so long for me so I wound up paying $180.

So, in my opinion, this will work in actual courts, but not in DMV hearing rooms. Unless I'm missing something (and I most likely am!).