I got a ticket for going through a yellow light UPDATE
Last night I was going to a friends house to add another of his campaign signs to my car.
As I approached one of two lights in our town I noticed a Border Patrol on the left waiting at the light, and another police cruiser coming towards me. At that moment, as I was entering the intersection, the light turns yellow. So I roll through it like I have a million other times. The cop in front of me whips his cruiser around and lights me up. I pulled over and asked why he was pulling me over and he said because I ran a red light. I emphatically told him I did not and at that point he said he would get the BP guy over to confirm.
I had to wait 15 minutes and THREE BP trucks with punk kids driving them popped out of their truck and stood behind the cops cruiser. I heard the cop say, "that's all I need" and came over and gave me a red light ticket. I again told him I did not run the light and this was bullshit and he said I can tell this to the judge.
I then asked him if BP now provides backup for the county and he said " we are all the same"
What can I do? Any ideas on how to beat this?
UPDATE: I complained to the Sheriff and everyone else I could talk to about this and I went to my hearing. The Deputy did not show up and the ticket was tossed. Even though I "won" It cost me in angst and frustration
Everyone must fight every ticket. Keep the courts backed up.
Was the cop going the opposite direction from you? If so, how could he have seen your light? Is the BP going to show up in court to testify against you? Was BP going your direction (four lane road), or left to right?
I highly recommend
http://helpigotaticket.com/
It's california centric, but some of the tips on procedure should apply elsewhere. Google for more AZ specific help.
Definitely subpoena both sides of his [copy of] ticket and any notes.
IANAL, but I have a web site for traffic attorneys:
http://www.town-court.com/article/10/show/
Use the search feature to find your court.
Mr. Freeman
You sent me a bogus email.
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I never did get anything from
I never did get anything from you. I don't know about my email being bogus as I only have one email address for the past 15 years.
Ira
I apologize for the delay,check your email.
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Plead not guilty
Each state is different. In most states, you can plead not guilty and send in a written explanation that you cannot afford the bail/collateral. (Note that, frequently, this option is not made clear to you on the instructions, and is frequently at the option of the judge.)
If you write a polite letter and reply in a timely fashion that you cannot afford collateral, you will usually just get a court date.
Show up. Be prepared. Don't be combative; be polite but firm in your questions.
I doubt that the officer will bring witnesses. If he needed to consult with witnesses to determine whether or not the light was red, and they don't show, you should be fine. Just politely get it on the record that the officer would have had a difficult (if not impossible) time judging whether the light was yellow or red when you went through it. And if you plan your questions wisely (e.g. "Are you certain that you viewed the light as red when I drove through it?" [if yes] "Did you consult with anyone else? Why, if you were certain?" [if no] "Are they here today?"), you will improve your chances.
There are no guarantees. I've been hosed before. Then again, I've gotten charges reduced by the judge, and have even caught breaks when officers don't show up at court. All you can do is improve your odds.
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Ira
I am also in Az.,and I was the happy receiver of one of these,in Az. this is serious, can I email you?
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Take Photos of the Signs on Your Cars
If you have bumper stickers or signs or your cars, take pictures. If these tickets are a matter of public record, you may want to contact others who have political signs on their cars and see if there's a pattern. One easy way to do this is to attend traffic court and talk to the people in line.
Then, watch the proceedings and learn what works and what doesn't.
IMissLiberty
YES! Please email me. I know
YES! Please email me. I know this is serious.
I emailed you
Please let me know if you got it!and I will send more.
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I got your initial contact
I got your initial contact email. Waiting for your info. Thanks!
Thanks Ira !
I will check for return email so I don't tie up band width here.
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This may very well be the only situation in which a.......
streetlight camera could be of human benefit; disproving an accusation.
What state are you in?
What state are you in?
Arizona
Arizona
since these state and local
since these state and local governments are starved for cash the cops are writing anything and everything..
“Defiance of God’s Law will eventually bring havoc to a society.” - Dr. Ron Paul
Bingo
be careful patriots
peace
Fight it, one way or another.
I used to work for a local judge, and red light fines are no joke - I recall they had the largest fines and points of all moving violations.
The poster below has an idea that sounds excellent - perhaps you should consider trying it. If not, definitely plead innocent, mail it in and go to the court date. In my old town, if you show up (which the vast majority do not bother to do) the D.A. automatically offers you a lesser charge - which could equal less or no points and much less expense to you. I cannot vouch for your district though. Ask friends and family what their experiences have been in court.
It's a pain, but could be worth it.
Good luck.
Greetings
I have learned that the best way to beat a traffic ticket is to request a trial by declaration. This involves you mailing in your side of the story with an official form to the court. After a few weeks a judge reviews your statement and a statement from the citing officer and makes a ruling. This is better than going to court physically because A) You don't have to waste your time showing up to a courthouse and waiting hours and hours hoping that the cop doesn't show, and B) The officer is required to write his own statement on his own time and send/bring it to the clerk.
Very few people do this and usually the officer doesn't bother with the extra paperwork. To make this method more effective you should delay your court appearance as long as legally possible in your county/State. Having only a paper with your testimony and a case number to go by, the officer doesn't really remember the incident. (Granted in your case this may not help much given the circumstances)
This is, however, usually a good tactic to avoid traffic convictions in most cases. The trick is to make your interactions with the officer as brief and unmemorable as possible so when the time comes he won't remember you or bother to deal with your case.
*Not sure how it works in all states, but in Kalifornia you have to pay your fine amount (bail) simultaneously with your declaration and when/if you are found innocent it will be returned to you by mail. The very first time I tried this it worked and I plan on doing it every time I get a traffic ticket from now on.
Happy mailing!
"The casualty of partisanship is objectivity."
CA ticket advice.
This is probably CA only, but I highly recommend it as well.
http://helpigotaticket.com/ has all the details to fight your ticket.
Big Benefit is government revenue agent gets overtime pay to go to court. Zero for trial by declaration.
Another great section of CA Traffic Code is: 40502(b)
http://helpigotaticket.com/prevent/venue.html
that lets you change jurisdiction from the other side of the county you live or work in, to the County Seat. This increases the odds the revenue agent will not appear.
IANAL
Hello
Unfortunately, I believe your only recourse is to start a new country. The police are not going to take their budget crises by doing the same thing that businesses have to do, by firing people and becoming more efficient. I think we can all expect more bullshit tickets in the future.
video on cars
Is there video on the cars. either of them
No videos on cars, or at the
No videos on cars, or at the light. I'm thinking about one for my ride though
I got a ticket like this a couple of years ago.
Here's how it went down: I told the judge that the light was yellow. The judge brougnt down the gavel and stated,,,,,That'll be $350.00 and cost of court. And that was it. How sweet it is~!@#$~
Here's how our court works at my hometown. If you want to fight the ticket, then you have to get a lawyer. Usually a $1000.00 retainer will retain a lawyer. You have to make sure your lawyer is friends with all the judges. Your lawyer will pass your dollars to the presiding judge. Usually around $500.00 or so. After the judge gets his money, your case is tossed out never to be recorded in any records. That's just about it, the problem never existed. Great deal,,,,huh?
So the way I look at is, you get as much justice as you're willing to pay for. Ain't it nice.
JM
I would have gone on appeal...
... even if that means hiring a lawyer. There is no evidence other than the officer's word against yours. Freedom of information act and other discovery work will reveal evidence that officers have an incentive to make it up. Jury will not convict.
Plano TX
justice
I am involved in a case now where the 2nd lawyer I talked to actually asked me how much justice could I afford. That pretty much sums up our court system.
It's a money making scam.
I got an out of state speeding ticket not long ago and there is nothing you can do but pay it. When people quit driving because of fear of getting a ticket, then what will they do when the sales tax from gasoline goes down.
I got one too...
.. went to court... judge said if I plead no contest, it won't show on my record. If I plead not guilty I would have to come back (out of state, remember). If he finds me guilty I would need lawyer to lodge an appeal. After stacking the deck against me, I pleaded not guilty. He told me: "Your lucky day. The officer who ticketed you, no longer works here. Case dismissed."
Another officer gave my son "a minor under influence" citation at a prom party - not true. I went to court and told the prosecutor that the officer better not lie about smelling alcohol on my son's breath, because if I produce medical evidence ("IF" as in I had no such evidence) taken within half hour of the citation that there were no alcohol in his blood I'll have the officer up for perjury. When the case came up, the prosecutor told the judge that the officer could not remember giving my son a citation. Case dismissed. The other twenty guys all pleaded no contest and paid $100 fines, even though most of them were in the clear. Fight them.
Plano TX
I remember a year or so ago
I remember a year or so ago reading an article about Police in some area being told that they either start writing more tickets or start preparing their resumes for a new career...
Had a friend tell me that in the past year the police have significantly changed in the Tampa Bay / St. Pete area of FL. Said that 5 years ago the Police were known to always be there when needed, but other than that they generally stayed out of the way. In the past year they are supposedly all over the place watching people like hawks, waiting to catch any mistake. I don't know how true this is because I haven't seen it first hand.
Anyhow...
So, in the past two months or so many public employees have been losing their jobs. Police in Boston, Cleveland and some other areas have been laid off. NYC might lay off a rather large amount. In Phoenix they've created a food tax (so now people have the pay big gov before they are allowed to eat) in order to "save city jobs."
It could be that you were unfortunately the victim of the current budget crisis that many levels of government are facing. What can you do when it's your word versus the police? When it comes to that you need to have a camera rolling 24/7 to be able to prove they are lying.
Not sure what else to say other than good luck with it. Hopefully someone else has good ideas for you.
...
So what if this back fires
We all show up in court and fight all these tickets. Will it have the opposite effect? Will it cost them more money in court expenses ? I have no doubt with States running low to empty there will be beaucoup more tickets.
"Obamney care," Nuff said.
You know, you might be right
You know, you might be right that it may have the opposite effect if people fight all these tickets.
I remember reading about a prosecutor in California who was refusing to prosecute certain cases, because they couldn't afford to do so any longer. Here's an article that I just found about it:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/21/...
Quotes from that article:
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