What kind of citations can be tried in court? PLEASE READ!!!!!!
 

Ok so I got 3 tickets today for something completely bogus...


I was following my mom on the interstate to see some family and apparently, this cop was watching me the whole time for about a mile or so as I switched lanes, and he was in front of me in a different lane the entire time. So up comes a part where I'm in the middle lane, he's in front in the right lane(completely in front of my car in the other lane), and my mom passes me on the left lane and so I switch lanes real quick, I know for a fact that I used my blinker, i just did it fast, and so I see the cop hit his brakes, go into the grass on the right and maneuver to get behind me and pull me over for....FAILING TO USE TURN SIGNAL!!!!!!! $125 Can someone tell me how he'd even see my turn signal from the rear view mirror in his position???? he also babbled about how while he watched me, he new I was gona gun it but then I saw him and braked...which is far from the truth...I saw him the whole time...no way in heck i was gonna gun it.

so then he looks at my registration and sees that it expired on the 13th and my dumb self didn't renew it, so I got another $75 ticket for that...but I heard from 2 people that you have til the end of the month to renew the registration...

and then as he's writing my ticket, he apparently remembers a new florida law that says that the words "florida" on your tag cant be obscured or hidden, so bam, another $76. I've had it for exactly 2 years and here's that it looks like:

http://i5.tinypic.com/20ra1ah.jpg

All 3 tickets are completely retarded because the lane change thing was completely false which caused him to pull me over in the first place. He was being a douche the whole time and I want to try this in court bc I have $250 worth in tickets which are total BS.

Can I try any of this in court?

absolutely thats BS about the plate i would deff argue it in court he prob wont even show up which is a good chance to take..

Yeah man no doubt. I didn't think using a turn signal was THAT big of a deal when you are just changing lanes. And you have a month from the day of your Bday to renue your tag. So you legally have until August 13th until it is officially late. I have NEVER heard of something partly covering FLORIDA. It has a fvckin orange on our plates lol how obvious can it be. Honestly the blinker thing might be a tough one in court but I would fight till the end with the other stuff. Good luck

yeah, I heard about changing the court date to a sunday or something and the cop usually doesnt show up. But absolutely any advice on this is GREATLY appreciated. I can afford the ticket and take the class so regardless what happens, the worst that happens is I'm screwed out of $250

there is nothing you can do...

pay them and get it over with...

you argue it... and any court etc will take the cops word over your own... he doesnt have to prove anything...

he is a dick... just pay them and save yourself any further headache

just pay it....In my own experience in taking tickets to court..I have lost each case....cops>citizens in courts....

Forget that! Fight that sh*t! Cops always get away with crap like that and you have to stand up for yourself. The court may take his word over yours, but forget him, make him prove it, ESPECIALLY since he had a terrible angle to view your signal. Hell, I say if your mom was "close" maybe she got a better view of your car and DID see your turn signal on, if you catch my drift. 2 against 1 on that.

That Florida law is stupid. Can't they see the big a** orange that is on there? Obstructed is a vague word. You should fight it and I bet you'll win. Bring in pictures like that exact one and let the court handle it. It clearly says Florida and the letters are not completely obsured to the point where it is illegible. I would even bring the plate and the frame in if it helps prove your case any better.

Cops are out trying to make money, they're a business for the city in my opinion. When revenues are down, citations go up. Especially petty things like what you got nabbed for. Don't let them win! Fight that sh**!

Think of it this way, what is the worst that can happen on those tickets if you fight them? You are out $250 bucks which is where you'll be anyways if you don't fight it! It is not like a speeding ticket where the judge has a lot more discretion about what you can be penalized for. It may cost you some time out of your day. For your inconvenience of having to pay, make it inconvenient for his a** to show up. Waste his time for wasting yours.

OK, I am going to give you some adult advice.....

Go to traffic court. You may want to admit "no contest" to the lane change ticket and then show proof that you fixed the other two. If the law says that you can't cover your plates at all, based on the photo that you took, you are wrong. So just fix it. Use pictures to show it is corrected and show before and after pics. The judge will appreciate the effort and may even think it was dumb that you got a ticket for it anyway.

The registration issue is cut and dry. Either you are worng 100% or right 100%. Either way, you need to fix it now anyways. So why argue. Same deal here. Show proof that you got it corrected and get it corrected right away.

These last two tickets are referred to as "fix it tickets". Generally, if you get them corrected right away and go to court, you can get fines removed. In fact, I got nailed for registration one time and just went to the police station the next day and showed them that it was fixed, and they killed it and I never went to the judge.

Above all, be repsectful. Tell the judge you wre not aware of the lic plate issue and won't let it happen again. Tell him you were following your Mom and you saw the police officer watching you and it made you nervous. If you turn this into a his word vs your word, you will loose. It is not the first time someone got nervous with a cop and screwed up.

Here is my advice.....GO TO COURT!!!!
It is your right and you take a chance of having them reduced or even better, THROWN OUT!
Don't just send them the cash without appearing in court first.
In fact, speak to the DA when you get there and strike a deal.

TRUST ME!! I have done this many times.

I talked to greg(before the flaming begins, hear me out) and he said that if you lose the court hearing then they'll charge you more money for "wasting their time"

Is there anything I have to lose by going to court?


And thanks again to everyone. This help is greatly appreciated

yeah mt's#1customer has some good advice. I would listen to him

The first thing you need to do before you take anyones advice is do research. See what the officer is charging you. Read it and find loop holes pertaining to your situation. Dont base your defense with a situation where the judge has to trust your word over the officers as you will lose instead base it on facts. If the officer gave you a citation over blocking an intersection when you where parked in an alley then the officer will lose, BTW which happened to my wife. If the judge wants to he can make you pay court fees but drop all or some of the charges.

On your next post you should provide all of us with the info on what exactly you are charged with. If you can scan the ticket, block your personal info and let us take a look at it and see what can be done.

Ok, I talked to an officer at my church and he said that the license plate violation was completely stupid and that he'd never write someone up for that(especially in my case) and that for the expired tag, all I gotta do is get it renewed shortly, and then go to the clerk's court and show them and I'll get the fine waived and just get charged 10 or 15 bucks. He said that I will likely get found guilty for the moving violation but after being found guilt, to ask for adjudication(basically meaning, yes I'm guilty but please waive my ticket) and then the judge will ask the officer if he has any problem with waiving the fine and the offcier99% of the time will say no.

And here are all 3 fines attached

MT#1 hit it right on the head. Just go in with proof that you fixed the two and those probably will be swipped free but youll more than likely be hit with the lane change ticket.

Got to love the florida blinker law huh?

That really sucks man, the blinker thing really boils down to "you gonna believe me or him", and the license plate crap is bogus, the turn signal law here is a bunch of crap, If you're switching lanes very quickly, I don't think the light actually flashses the instant you activate the signal, I think it doesn't flash till the click..which takes about a second on my car, and if you do the lane change really fast and have the steering wheel turned back the other way instantly then the light may have never came on. I've never heard of that florida visiblity bs.

The new florida plates are well.......
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/Kevin-/word.jpg

a little better.. =(
Now we're advertising!
:censored:

yeah..the first time i saw the myflorida.com thing, i was like "wtf is that ****?" but alot of states are doing it now...retarded IMO

You should fight that $hit...

They will prolly drop it...

He is the law:


316.155 When signal required.--

(1) No person may turn a vehicle from a direct course or move right or left upon a highway unless and until such movement can be made with reasonable safety, and then only after giving an appropriate signal in the manner hereinafter provided, in the event any other vehicle may be affected by the movement.

(2) A signal of intention to turn right or left must be given continuously during not less than the last 100 feet traveled by the vehicle before turning, except that such a signal by hand or arm need not be given continuously by a bicyclist if the hand is needed in the control or operation of the bicycle.

(3) No person may stop or suddenly decrease the speed of a vehicle without first giving an appropriate signal in the manner provided herein to the driver of any vehicle immediately to the rear, when there is opportunity to give such signal.

(4) The signals provided for in s. 316.156 shall be used to indicate an intention to turn, to overtake, or to pass a vehicle and may not, except as provided in s. 316.2397, be flashed on one side only on a parked or disabled vehicle or flashed as a courtesy or "do pass" signal to operators of other vehicles approaching from the rear.

(5) A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation as provided in chapter 318.

History.--s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 16, ch. 76-31; s. 4, ch. 83-68; s. 129, ch. 99-248; s. 4, ch. 2005-164.

they dont have a quota anywhere in florida. stop spreading false information.

uh yes they do, my bro was a state trooper in florida and is now a state trooper in georgia. Plus im friends with dozens of cops down here.

You can probably get Probation before judgement for the blinker thing, which means that you cant get any tickets for a year, or the points go onto your liscense.

Pleading no contest is the best for the moving violation, as those are harder to fight and get rid of since its your word against his. The court doesnt charge you extra money for wasting their time, that is the biggest crock of **** I have ever heard.

The other two are fix it tickets. Photos normally dont work for the plate thing though. I would take the frame off, go to the court on the date, have the officer look at the back of your car and see that the frame has been removed, and then present the paperwork saying you renewed your registration to the judge. Those two would be dropped immediately.

I have fought the only ticket that I have ever gotten for Careless Driving (a 3pt offence in PA). I took it to not just the district, but the county courthouse, and struck a deal with the assistant DA to change my violation to a non moving, non points violation. All I had to pay were the court fees and a $35 fine, instead of a $110 fine and the court fees.

The rule of thumb here is to try to get out of those moving violations if at all possible. That will jack up your insurance rates very quickly. Talking to the DA is a very good idea.

The signal thing is going to be he said v you said, and he will win. Trust me. Either plead no contest or, if your state has it, pay for traffic school.

LOL... i swear that sometimes this is a revenue based ticketing system.

So far, none of the tickets i was charged with went on my record for the offence i was origionally charged. instead it goes from a $60 fine and 2 pts speeding ticket to a 0pts $100 fine for a broken headlight that was always intact.
Dont get me wrong, i'd rather cough a little extra up to keep the points on my licence, however, it does seem a little bit corrupt that i was speeding and got caught, yet on my record i wasnt speeding, i had a broken headlight.

one of my buddys got pulled over on memorial day when he left the bar. he had 2 drinks, blew like a .04 and the legal limit is .05. They took him to detox, he had to pay 400 to get out of detox once he could blow a .00 about 2 hours later. Then they just seemed to drop the charges. but they got his 400 bucks.

totally a revenue based thing. Ya know, they dont get those new 07 charger cop cars by letting people slide. they get em by fining people.

lol...:beerchug:

fuk the cop, sh1t on his patrol car. jk

The problem is is that there are too many stories floating around. Every juristiction is different and even they change over time.

As far as quotas, I believe thy are a violation of federal law. Do they happen? Absolutely! But, they are not supposed to.

Fact of the matter is, fix the problems that you can. The moving violation from my experience can go a few different ways:

1 - You plead guilty and mail in your fine. You get points, but don't waste time in court.

2 - You go to court, plead inocent, but the cop is not present. So, they either re-schedule the date, or throw it out.

3 - You go to court, plead guilty but ask to have the ticket reduced to a non-point ticket.

I recently went to court for a speeding ticket. I was 20 over the limit. Initially, the magistrate re-scheduled the date with me because the cop could not be there. Then, the new date, I could not attend and then rescheduled. Then, I had to reschedule again. Since I am moving out of state, I began to think I would just change my plea and take the points, but I went to court anyway.

I was in the building for a total of two minutes. There were two other people that were in court with me and they looked like they were there for more serious problems.

The magistrate asked me to sit and then she said "I suppose you are hear to ask to have your ticket reduced to non-moving violation?" I said "yes". Then she said "OK, I have given you a 45 in a 40 and it is no points. We owe you $35 and you may leave."

Looking around, I did not see the cop, but figured I would take my lumps and leave. I did not open my mouth one more word just walked right out. I got what I wanted. Was I speeding? Yes. So, getting out of there with no points was a good things.