[cheguevara]

Hey folks, I've been keeping this a secret until now because I didn't want to jinx it but I'm ready to talk about it now.

I rode my bike to Santa Barbara on New Years 2014 to check the town out, but I had to come back that same night because I had work in the morning. Santa Barbara itself was actually lame, so I ride back so I can have enough time to get some sleep in, and I may have been going a little too fast. Indeed, I was about to lower my speed since I was in an area where it was likely that I could get pulled over, when I get pulled over and cited for allegedly going over the 65mph speed limit.

Over the next few months I delay my court appearance again and again, until this past March when I went to the court clerk ready to plead guilty, pay the fine and go to traffic school, when the clerk informs me that if I take it to trial that I have the option to ask the judge to go to traffic school if convicted. Immediately I change my plea to not guilty, given that I have nothing to lose by fighting the ticket, and my court trial is set for the 30th of April in Oxnard at the Juvenile Court.

So this afternoon I make my way to the court in my car (I want to ride the bike as little as possible for long rides until the trip this weekend), and I show up my heart pounding ready to accept my fate if the officer shows up.

The officer did not show up, and my case was dismissed. Yay!

As I take my clearance papers from the bailiff I notice that the citation officer was CHP, so I'm not sure if he did not show up because he's just not from that area, or because it's been months since this happened, but whatever the reason I'm happy to have the citation dismissed for this the first time I've ever contested it. It's good to start this weekend's trip on such good news, because that also means that I now have $369 more money than I did than if I'd been found guilty of allegedly speeding

 

[Spacep0d]

That's part of the game, and it's why I fight tickets. 6 wins out of 7 now over many years contesting the bad ones.

Congrats!

 

[Darryle]

Thats awesome! Congrats man.

 

[Michael V]

Awesome man! I'm actually just about to make a thread about help with fighting my ticket lol.

 

[KawiFury]

How did you keep delaying it? You usually have to have a good reason like death in the family or hospitalization.

 

[cheguevara]

How did you keep delaying it? You usually have to have a good reason like death in the family or hospitalization.

In California you're allowed to extend court date two times, no reason needed. I did it online.

 

[ducati_dave]

Why would you be in juvenile court? All traffic tickets, regardless of age, in every state I've lived in go to the same traffic court.

Dave

 

[Aj510]

court date extensions ftmfw!!!! Im sorry but most traffic tickets are just revenue generators for the state and a waste of an officers time. I want them out there making a difference not hiding in the bushes with a radar gun, don't get me wrong the person driving recklessly or putting others at risk disserve tickets but 9/10 times traffic violations are a joke. He probly didn't show because he would have no recollection of the event and you do get to question them during the process in front of the judge and they pull so many people over every month that he is not likely going to remember your 1 incident and if he shows up answering "I don't recall" then hes not going to put up a strong case against you

 

[cheguevara]

Why would you be in juvenile court?

That's just where they have them in Oxnard. It's actually called the "Juvenile and Probate Court".

 

[D dot T]

I'm glad to hear you got off on the speeding ticket and hope you don't do anymore! lol :emot-cop:

 

[slycse7en]

Only once, did I have to contest a moving violation summons... And I was so sure that I'd beat it I even practiced my victory expression. But the ahole didn't show up due to sickeness, and it was rescheduled. I was truly upset with that, as I felt the ahole was granted a clear accommodation in a place where two parties should be recognized as equals. The ahole didn't show up at the rescheduled date either, and the alleged offense was cleared.

Long story short, time permitting, it's always a good idea to contest tickets I feel - moving, parking or otherwise (parking mostly in my case). And you actually get better in your defense strategy each time.

 

[cheguevara]

Unfortunately with parking, the "ahole" citation officers don't need to show up when you contest the ticket. There are no loopholes in parking tickets like there are in moving violations :-/

 

[mattruthluke]

I do not promote lying in any fashion.....*But, if you slyly find a way to mention to the LEO that you are a Registered Nurse you will get off without a ticket every time.......It's a silent, unmentionable, but understood code between policemen and nurses. The LEO risks his/her life everyday and they know that they never want to look up from the gurney table and gaze into the eyes of the person in charge of saving their life that they just recently issued a life altering ticket to for an inconsequential violation.

*Lying is sometimes acceptable when protecting oneself from a tyrannical, out of control, despotic government......who holds out its arms to you only to better suffocate your freedoms.

 

[Vladius]

I do not promote lying in any fashion.....*But, if you slyly find a way to mention to the LEO that you are a Registered Nurse you will get off without a ticket every time.......It's a silent, unmentionable, but understood code between policemen and nurses. The LEO risks his/her life everyday and they know that they never want to look up from the gurney table and gaze into the eyes of the person in charge of saving their life that they just recently issued a life altering ticket to for an inconsequential violation.

I'm sorry, but this kinda pi**es me off.

#1: If you are an officer of the law, you have a duty to uphold it fairly, without bias.

#2: If you are an RN, taking care of me when I am a patient is your duty, and if the care I receive is dependent on me treating you different than I have a duty to, then you shouldn't be an RN, because no one could seriously entrust their well being to you, nor should they.

 

[cheguevara]

Well folks, looks like I'm two-for-two. This morning I fought the law, and the law lost again!

Last Thanksgiving, I was coming back from an errand in Tijuana and I may have been going a little too fast in Orange County when a CHP officer pulled me over and cites me for speeding. I didn't get the citation in the mail until January, and I asked for two extensions. I finally showed up at the court in early April and pleaded not guilty, but I had my court trial scheduled for May 20 on account of the Mexico trip.

This morning I show up to the Fullerton Superior Court. There was almost no one in the courtroom except a counsel and two officers, neither of which looked like CHP. One case goes ahead of mine with the counsel and an officer in a business suit. Then it's time for mine so I walk up to the podium and the business suit officer walks up as well and I'm like wtf, this isn't the officer who cited me. The judge is confused too so he asks and the cop says "oh, he's my brother but he's going to be late." So the judge asks us to sit back down and wait for the officer and in my head I'm thinking "if I showed up at no one would wait for me." After about 7 minutes (of hell for me) the judge calls me up again and calls the officer out loud. Since he is not there, my case is dismissed and I walk out of the court with $267 more dollars in my pocket. Yay! lol

 

[RussianMenace]

Depending on where you are, continuing your court date (if allowed) isn't going to yield much simply because some jurisdictions will "write up" the officer if he/she misses her court date...so they show up 9.5 times out of 10 and if they can't, the case would be continued just like it can be for any other joe-sixpack off the street. So, while it sounds like it could be a viable gamble in Cali (or people just have been lucky with officers not showing up), I wouldn't bet on that being the case everywhere.

At the end of day, the best way to stay out of court is to not drive/ride like an "ahole" as some have eloquently put it...especially when you consider that most local LE won't write you for things like speeding unless you're doing 10-12+ over the speed limit. Pretty much everyone speeds, that is almost a given and that is why there is discretion, but when you're doing 12+ over the speed limit and then are surprised and upset that you got a ticket...c'mon, get over yourself and take some accountability; you played the game and lost.

Now, if you get stopped by State/Highway Patrol, pretty much accept the fact that you're getting a ticket....because that is their job, traffic enforcement.

 

[cheguevara]

Yep, I've pretty much been avoiding going more than 78-79mph on the freeway since I've gotten these tickets, so lesson learned.

 

[PureAttrition]

Cops usually let me off just because I was USMC (at least they used to when I was in my Jeep, who knows now on the motorcycle) but just so you know you can also fight a ticket by "written declaration", where you just have to mail in some paperwork, and if the officer doesn't file then you get off. If he does and you lose there, you then also still have the option to go to court, where again, the officer might not show up. Way back in the day when I was in high school I fought a ticket by written declaration and I think all I wrote was like "I wasn't speeding, it was the guy next to me, and the radar picked up him instead of me" and the officer didn't even bother to respond and they just let it go. That was like 12 years ago though, so who knows nowadays.

 

[Spacep0d]

Well folks, looks like I'm two-for-two. This morning I fought the law, and the law lost again!

Last Thanksgiving, I was coming back from an errand in Tijuana and I may have been going a little too fast in Orange County when a CHP officer pulled me over and cites me for speeding. I didn't get the citation in the mail until January, and I asked for two extensions. I finally showed up at the court in early April and pleaded not guilty, but I had my court trial scheduled for May 20 on account of the Mexico trip.

This morning I show up to the Fullerton Superior Court. There was almost no one in the courtroom except a counsel and two officers, neither of which looked like CHP. One case goes ahead of mine with the counsel and an officer in a business suit. Then it's time for mine so I walk up to the podium and the business suit officer walks up as well and I'm like wtf, this isn't the officer who cited me. The judge is confused too so he asks and the cop says "oh, he's my brother but he's going to be late." So the judge asks us to sit back down and wait for the officer and in my head I'm thinking "if I showed up at no one would wait for me." After about 7 minutes (of hell for me) the judge calls me up again and calls the officer out loud. Since he is not there, my case is dismissed and I walk out of the court with $267 more dollars in my pocket. Yay! lol

Yeah, a cop's brother cannot stand up for him in court. That's hearsay. Doesn't even work with cops. If one cop wrote a ticket and it wasn't the cop that measured your speed, that's hearsay. If there are two cops involved, e.g., an airplane spotter and ground unit, then both have to show up in court or respond to the TBD (Trial by Written Declaration).

Second, you *can* object to the wait time, because you're right, they would NOT wait for you. It's not right that you should have to wait on the very person who's testimony you oppose for not being on time.

Glad you beat it!

 

[Spacep0d]

Depending on where you are, continuing your court date (if allowed) isn't going to yield much simply because some jurisdictions will "write up" the officer if he/she misses her court date...so they show up 9.5 times out of 10 and if they can't, the case would be continued just like it can be for any other joe-sixpack off the street. So, while it sounds like it could be a viable gamble in Cali (or people just have been lucky with officers not showing up), I wouldn't bet on that being the case everywhere.

At the end of day, the best way to stay out of court is to not drive/ride like an "ahole" as some have eloquently put it...especially when you consider that most local LE won't write you for things like speeding unless you're doing 10-12+ over the speed limit. Pretty much everyone speeds, that is almost a given and that is why there is discretion, but when you're doing 12+ over the speed limit and then are surprised and upset that you got a ticket...c'mon, get over yourself and take some accountability; you played the game and lost.

Now, if you get stopped by State/Highway Patrol, pretty much accept the fact that you're getting a ticket....because that is their job, traffic enforcement.

Keep in mind that in SoCal, 'average' speed is about 80 in free-flowing conditions on the freeway. That's the 'safe' speed if we honor the phenomenon of speed disparity being more dangerous (speed differential). So, 65mph has little to do with the proper speed than the actual safe speed. Cops know this though and driving this speed makes sense. It's the assholes who drive 65mph in the 'fast' lanes and clog up traffic-flow.

When merging on to a CA freeway, the correct answer per the DMV is not to merge at the speed limit but at traffic flow, which is often well above the speed limit. States will vary here of course.