anthracitetarga

iTrader: (1)

Going to court tom. b/c of a speeding ticket. I have moved it back twice, hoping the officer wont show up. What should i do if he does show up? What should i do if he doesn't?

the_ez_rhino

why would the officer show up, are you fighting it? its pretty damn hard to fight speeding tickets.

anthracitetarga

iTrader: (1)

naw i dont plan on fighting it. This is my 1st ticket and i thought that th ecop that issued the citation always showed up b/c that was the only witness/evidence, and that one way to get out of a ticket is to move it back, b/c then, mabye the cop wont show up.

the_ez_rhino

no, the cop wont show up, basically you go into court and the judge will ask you if you are innocent or guilty, if you say guilty she will issue you a ticket, if you say innocent, they will assign a prosecutor to the case, THEN they will need the cop

RealMarty

That's not the way it works in GA. If you go to court and plead not guilty and the cop is not there the judge dismisses the charges.

In GA if the cop shows up you can still ask for a jury trial and they schedule it a month or so later. Sometimes you can negotiate a fine less than usual or get the fine and no points, but you gotta be willing to tough it out.

Alternately if the cop shows you can just plead guilty and call it a day.

The Ikon

Also if it is indeed your 1st ticket and under a certain age you can go to "drivers school" and watch films and/or work at a desinated place library, city hall, etc for a few hours to erase the fine and the ticket from your driving record.

Inquire about this at or before court and then SLOW DOWN!!!

MrWigggles

Texas is going to be different but here are some simple guidelines.

If you are hoping that the cop won't show, schedule a jury trial. The cop probably doesn't want to be tide up in court for the time it takes to do a jury trial so he is most likely not going to show. In Houston, scheduling a jury trial will get cop no shows about 75% of the time for a basic speeding ticket. (150 MPH Chopper pursuit and the cop will show)

But don't plan to fight the ticket with a Jury trial unless you have a lawyer. There are rules of evidence and all of that jazz and I am sure the prosecuting attorney would love to make a fool out of you for not knowing the law. Pleed "no-lo" which is shortened latin for "no contest"

Other tips:

I don't know if TN has defensive driving option for ticket dismissal but fighting your battle in court shouldn't change your ability to opt for defensive driving. For example, if you are found guilty you should be able to take defensive driving and keep the ticket of your record.

If you were given a ticket in a "tag-team" operation, the cop that worked the gun needs to show and not just the cop who wrote you the ticket. It is hersey for the cop who wrote you the ticket to give testimony for the cop who worked the gun.

It is a little late for you but you can file a motion with the court before your trial date to get information about the officers and the equipment they used to do the ticketing. If their certification has expired or if the equipments calibration has expired, you can get off on a technicality. I don't know the particulars for TN, but you should be able to ask the court workers on how this is done.

Whatever you do, I lawyer is usually worth the money. I still have a spotless record and I get wrongfully accused of speeding about twice a year.

-Mr. Wigggles