How should I defend my traffic ticket?

[Halon]

I got a ticket for following too close on January 2nd. I was driving down home to get my wisdom teeth pulled. Freeway was busy, we were all going 60 in a 65, and the left lane was going closer to 65. So I put my blinker on, wait a little bit, and one of the cars makes space for me to change lanes into. I speed up to their pace, which brings me closer to the car in front of me, but I am also simultaneously changing into the left lane. The officer pulled me over for following too close to the car I passed, saying I was "0.41 seconds" behind them. I was driving down with my girlfriend and dog, and was not doing anything unsafe at all. Shit, we weren't even going the speed limit! The cop was a fucking prick, too. Really rude and got pissed when I apologized. What an asshole. If he didn't have a badge I would have told him to fuck off. I've been pulled over before, and every other cop was really nice to me. I'm always more than nice to police officers, as I respect them and what they do very much.
Pretty much every single cop was out that day giving tickets. I don't know anything about whether or not there are quotas or what was going on, but it was obvious that they were trying to pull in some tickets in the beginning of the new year. I saw over a dozen cops in a 20-mile stretch of the freeway. I normally might run into one or two. I really cannot see why I was pulled over, as I wasn't even following as close as others. Not trying to be rude towards police officers, as I appreciate everything they do, and I am all for having officers patrolling the freeway to reduce accidents/speeding/etc., but this was bogus. Way too many out there to simply be patrolling, and it was really obvious they just wanted to hand out as many tickets as possible.

I have gotten two speeding tickets before. The first one was when I was 16 and got caught going 55 in a 45 in a speed trap. The next one I was going like 16 over, but the cop knocked it down to a 4 over because I was going to my best friend's funeral and running a little late. That last ticket was in early 2005. I really just don't want points on my license, and especially not for this, so I decided to go to court and see what happens. It's almost more because the cop was such an asshole. Even my girlfriend was upset with how rude he treated us. I mean everybody has bad days, but I'm not going to let this slide very easily. The least I'm going to do is to get the officer's card and call in and complain about how rude he was to us. The courthouse in Denver is a little over an hour away, but I'm so pissed off by how big of a dick this guy was that I decided I would show up instead of just pay the fine. The court date is tomorrow (the 12th). Kinda wondering if anybody has any experience with traffic court and what I should expect/do/etc. I am really upset about the whole situation, especially how rudely I was treated by the officer. Also, how did the officer come up with his little "0.41 seconds"? I cannot see how driving in busy traffic it would be safe for him to check his stopwatch, which would require a bit of time for him to watch my car and the one in front of me. Even .41 seconds not watching the road can be fatal. So did he just guess the time in his head? I'm going to find out tomorrow how he got the number, as I do not think I was following too close.
Thanks!


TYLER

 

[caudio51]

You're fucked, nothing you can really do.

You can try to plea down with the prosecutor but if the cop shows up and continues to be a dick I doubt that will happen.

 

[Angry Bill]

Tyler,

I will tell you the official rule for Cops, There is no such thing as a quota. They call it standards instead.

As for fighting the ticket, it will become your word versus the cops word. If you can show that you were not following too close or creating a hazard, you amy convince the judge to fidn you not guilty. Also, sometimes folks write tickets and never show up. SO it is a crap shoot! Are you feeling lucky?

 

[Tegu]

All I can say is hope he does not show up, I have only done this twice and one time the officer did not show up, the ticket was dismissed and I was told it is fairly common.

 

[dpricenator]

You never know Tom. With your girl as a witnmess,and with no way to prove how far back you were and no tool to gague that while driving the judge may tell this guy to fly a kite. But I would think that you pay the ticket and take traffic school to get rid of the point on your record.

 

[caudio51]

The same could be said for speeding.

It is the Officer's statement against the Defendant.

Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[BradMc]

Two words Tyler....GOOD LUCK

 

[Halon]

I pretty much figure there's not a whole lot I can do, except for hope the cop just doesn't show up. Which might happen, because they were handing out tickets like mad. I can only hope. He had a very nice undercover Charger, a light green with black rims and very dark windows. Absolutely no sign it was a cop car, except the GVT plate I guess. So I'm thinking he's been a cop pretty long and is higher up there on the importance list.
We'll see what happens tomorrow.


TYLER

 

[jwintosh]

regardless of what detail he drew, he needs to be professional. as for the amount of activity, it is not uncommon for an area to receive saturation patrol. our motors do it all the time. as for the ticket, uhmm,,, well, he should have been professional!

 

[Moglman]

Tyler, if I understand correctly, and being overly familiar with Front Range traffic courts, tomorrow is just your arraignment. The cop doesn't have to show tomorrow in any case. You get to plead guilty or not tomorrow, but prior to entering a plea, you will have the opportunity to speak with the DA, CA, or whatever attorney depending on the jurisdiction. If your record is good, often they'll drop most or all of the points. There are some cities like Arvada (*#*&!*#@$& munchers) that refuse to plea anyone. It is almost always worth it to me to plead guilty to some lesser charge and pay the fine.

Only if you plead not guilty tomorrow will a future court date be set up where you and the cop will be expected. If the cop shows, it's your word against his, and he has 'training' for spotting traffic offenders which would overrule your gut feeling. If he doesn't show, they'll likely throw out the case. If the cop made any mistake in writing the ticket, it could possibly be thrown out tomorrow.

 

[Clinton]

I've had two speeding tickets dismissed simply because the cop didn't show up in court. So that's worth a shot, but before you can even find out, the DA is going to ask if you want to accept a lower fine and fewer points.

Face it, traffic tickets have little to do with public safety and everything to do with revenue. So they have all these people lined up in court and almost all of them accept a smaller "punishment" because they think they got off light. Easy money for the town.

On your ticket should be an indication of the specific traffic infraction that you're charged with. Look it up on your state's website to see exactly what it states. Challenging his assertion of 0.41 seconds is precisely what you want to do.

Other than perhaps some time at work, you have nothing to lose by going to court. But it may help you keep that fine in your pocket not to mention any increased insurance costs. Good luck.

 

[MadAl]

Tried to fight a ticket, Judge said at the beginning of the court session no one would win. You might get lucky, you'll probably waste a day.

 

[Smurf]

Only way you win is if Cop does not show.
Other wise, your word does not matter, however, the judge may be leiant with the type of offence or penalty if it's ridiculout, he will still side with the cop, but he may prevent your points or fine.

 

[Boppa-Wasch]

Good Luck!

 

[bballbaby]

There's a saying amongst highway patrolmen and such...

5 a day keeps the lieutinent away. Tickets that is.

But from the sounds of it, they were on a mission to site anything and everything.

I think you're screwed unless you plead not guilty, at which point a $100 ticket will turn into a much bigger deal with the time you spend getting to court and all.

 

[Asher]

I got my first (and only) ticket about 4 years ago. The cop clocked me at something like 51 in a 35 (sort of a speed trap; it was on a 6-lane road right where the speed limit dropped from 45 to 35 for no apparent reason.) The cop wrote it up for less than that (44 in a 35, I think). I showed up for my court date, pleaded not guilty, then bargained it down with the DA to "1-5 miles over the limit".

Even if you're completely guilty, it helps to just show up. The DAs will usually bargain the ticket down to avoid wasting time and revenue on a trial. Some places will let you bargain all the way down to a non-moving violation (no insurance hit), since their primary interest is in collecting revenue and avoiding a trial.

The cop being unprofessional is a separate issue, and you'd be best not to make it an issue in court, since it would probably just annoy the judge and wouldn't help your case.

-Asher

 

[tedski]

From your description and the officers estimate (maybe he had a radar unit in his car?), it sounds like you completed a lane change while being less than a car length from the vehicle in front of you in the next lane. Doing this going under 30 mph is not a huge deal ... but going 65 is rather hazardous, IMO. I've seen many, many accidents over the years caused by people following too closely or treating the highway like their own personal slalom course. While you may be an excellent driver, you cannot control the person in front of you.

Since my last accident (1985 - I was a passenger and a car slammed into us while we were stopped at a red light), I have always made it a point to drive more defensively and treat everyone else on the road like drunken teenagers.

In any event, beating traffic tickets is almost impossible. Does Colorado offer traffic school? Here in CA they offer it online so you don't have to waste a whole day watching boring safety movies.

 

[jaba]

Here's what i did with my traffic ticket. Maybe it could work for you as well. I don't know if the traffic laws in california are similar to that of colorado but you might want to give this a try.

1. I kept on filing for an extension. I didn't enter a plea until 6 months after.
2. I intended to fight the ticket through trial by declaration (I don't know if you have the same option there). Usually at 6 months down the line, the officer is too lazy to write any well written statement up.
3. I have the template/copy for fighting a tailgating violation and I won in both cases where i filed for a written declaration. If you want it, i can send it to you.
4. In case I didn't win via trial by declaration or was unhappy with the decision by the judge, you can always file for a trial de novo (don't know if I spelled that right) where you have to appear in court for a second trial. In this situation, the officer may most likely do a no show and you get your ticket dismissed. If he does show up though, you can still plead not guilty and bargain the ticket down.

 

[TexaSmoke]

Good luck, but it will end up being his word verse your. And the court will most likely side with him. If you go to trial, I would pick trial by jury which will give you the best chance at winning, but most likely the DA will try to settle the dispute. But if the officer does not show to court then the ticket gets dismissd.

 

[caseabb]

I am not sure about CO law, but in TX you have the option of requesting a deferred disposition. Basically this is a probation. You pay your fine don't get another ticket for 90 days and the case is dismissed. Again, very few states offer this, but it may be worth inquiring about.