Beat that Ticket

There are many resources available for hints and tips at successfully contesting moving violation citations(i.e., "tickets") in the state of California, especially online. But not one of them gives you detailed, personallysuccessful tips on how to go about doing so. Personally, I have successfully fought and won five moving violations in the state of California in less than two years. Granted, that may not make me an expert, but I believe I'm pretty damn close.

Beating five tickets in the past two years has not only saved me thousands of dollars, but also the grief and headaches from insurance hikes, the pain and monotony of attending traffic school(which I'm also close to an expert at), and the high cost of the citations themselves. If you want a one-hundred percent guarantee of getting that violation wiped from your record(and you are eligible), go to traffic school. If you're feeling risky and have attended the mind-lobotomizing drain of traffic school before, and know that you can't take another eight hours of the most monotonous "schooling" you've ever experienced- that's where this guide comes in. I can't guarantee that this guide will assure you of victory, but I can assure you that this resource will maximize your potential for beating that ticket to the fullest, as well as put your mind at ease about some of the things you are about to face in doing so.

Step 1: Getting Your Ticket.

Okay, so you've gotten a ticket. Aside from the anger, helplessness, and frustration you must be feeling, you're also probably wondering how you can go about beating this thing. Whether you ran a stop, drove above the speed limit, made an illegal turn, or a combination of any of these, there is one, single most-important rule to beginning your battle against your citation.

When you get pulled over, as long as it's not for something truly egregious like doing a hundred miles per-hour in a school zone or recklessly driving through a stop sign, you are nothing more to a cop than a number. Cops give out a significant number of tickets per month, and though they will publicly deny having to meet "quotas," all cops have citation quotas that they are pressured to meet. Now, once you become a number in their quota(i.e., you get a ticket), you have an option. You can go about fighting it your own way, or you can utilize this guide and raise your chances of winning. To be honest, you have a legitimate chance of beating a ticket without any resource or insight from ticket-beaters past, but my philosophy is this: if you're going to go about doing it, you might as well do it the best, most educated way you can. It's like if a world-class runner is attempting to beat a world record; he or she should train to beat it by ten minutes by utilizing all the resources and insight he or she can. That way, worse case scenario, he or she ends up beating it by two.

But now, on to that single, most-important rule.

There is one rule that will set the precedent for whether you are successful or unsuccessful in beating your ticket. It all boils down to that very first instant, when you see that cop approach your car after pulling you over. The first, most important rule of thumb, is DO NOT ARGUE. You can civilly ask the cop why he pulled you over or what you did, but after he or she is done explaining it to you, process what they've said in your mind. If you find holes in their theory, politely let them know. If they respond with their matter-of-fact cop rebuttals, DON'T ARGUE WITH THEM. LET THEM WIN. If they rebuke your claim with a statement of their own, just nod your head as if you are acknowledging their point. The last thing you want to do when you plan on fighting a ticket is to have that cop remember you. Remember, you are just a number to them, and the more you can stay that way, the better your chances of beating it. Should you sit there and put up a huff about how the police are "always trying to get you," or that "cops have nothing better to do than ticket," that cop is not only going to remember you, but he or she is going to get a little ticked at your attitude. This almost guarantees he or she is going to make it a point on their calendar to show up to court and make sure you eat that ticket. Remember, cops are just people, too, and if you piss them off enough, they'll show up looking to teach you a lesson.

So sign that ticket, apologize to the cop if you see fit, and maybe thank them for helping to keep the streets safe. After all, they do do that, too. They're not just out to get you or have nothing better to do, giving out citations is a way of making your area safe.

Step 2: Receiving Your Citation in the Mail.

After you sign your citation, part civilly with the cop and return to wherever it was you were headed, you'll forget about the ticket for at least a week or two. That's when you'll receive your citation in the mail. Seeing your citation in the mail will stir up all the anger and frustration you initially felt when seeing those red and blue lights, but fear not. You have a secret weapon. You have this guide. I fear the catch-22 of the success of this guide. In one aspect, naturally, I hope it does well. But in the other aspect, if it does really, really well, police stations and courts will begin to change their ways in counteracting ticket contestants, due to the overwhelming win-loss ration.

Once you receive your citation, review it. Always look for technical errors in your name, address, license plate, etc.,. If you find any(though you rarely will), congratulations- you've already beaten your ticket. If not, fear not. Again, you have this guide. There's only one really important thing you need to check when receiving your citation in the mail, and that's the bail due date. The bail due date is the day you need to pay your bail amount, and it's usually a couple months down the road. What you need to do is forget about that due date, and enjoy the rest of your life for at least a month and a half. In a month and a half, you need to recall that due date and move on to step two of beating that ticket: PAYMENT EXTENSION.

To be safe, get that citation out about a week and a half before it's due date. Some citations will state you have 10 business days to request an payment extension, so if that's the case, give yourself at least ten days to request it. In the state of California, requesting a payment extension is as easy as making an automated phone call. In fact, it is making an automated phone call. There should be information on your citation letting you know what toll-free number to call to request a payment extension. When it comes to making government payments, big brother really isn't that mean. They will give you a hearty extension to make a payment if you are having financial hardship... or if you'll utilizing ticket beating techniques.

Once you call that number, you will rarely speak to a live operator. Most court houses utilize automated messages to save time and money when dealing with such insignificant requests. For automated responses, all you need to do is push a couple of buttons and voila!- due date extended. If you speak to a representative, it's really not all that different. Just explain to them you are having a financial hardship and request an extension. That's all it takes. Voila, extension. The extension usually gives you a couple of months to make the payment, and it's usually just a one shot deal. You won't have the option of requesting another extension, and quite frankly- you won't need it. You know have approximately four months from when you first received your ticket to when you have to pay it, and we're not even talking about contesting it yet. That's four months for that cop to recall a number from his many, monthly numbers to recall some ticket from some person who didn't argue and barely left him with anything memorable. To make things even better for you, it'll be another couple months before you have to face him in court, but that takes us to step three.

Step 3: Making Your Payment.

So about a month and a half later, or 10 business days before your payment due date, you make your payment. Most courts ask you to write "NOT GUILTY" on your check if you are pleading not guilty. If your court requests a different way to plea, plea that way, but plead not guilty. Most courts now make you pay before your trial, regardless of how you're pleading, and will issue you a refund when you win. Notice, I said "when you win," not "if." It's good to be optimistic, but never walk in thinking it's a slam dunk.

So you make your payment and plead "not guilty." Years ago, there was a rumor that you can circumvent all the legal process of contesting a ticket by overpaying your payment amount by a few bucks, receiving a refund check in the amount of those few bucks, and never cashing that refund check. The theory was that as far as the courts were concerned, your bail amount was paid. In their system, however, your account was frozen until that refund check was cashed and the transaction was completed. The rumor stated that as long as you never cashed that refund check, the information will never move on to your insurance carrier or your driving record. I'll tell you a secret: I utilized this technique once, and it worked. I overpaid a ticket, received a refund check and never cashed it. It was years ago, and my insurance rate never changed, nor did I receive a "point" infraction on my driving record. The problem with this, though, is since then I have heard multiple times that courts and the Department of Motor Vehicles have become so wise to this technique that they have counteracted them with changes in refund policy. You can try this if you want, but I'm pretty sure it no longer works.

The safest, most educated way to continue fighting your ticket is to pay your bail amount and plead not guilty. After you do so, you've gotten the ball rolling. In another week or two, you will receive a letter from the court where you received your ticket, giving you a trial date and time. You don't have an option to extend this date, and must make arrangements to attend. You won't need one, though. It will now be at least SIX MONTHS from the day you were first pulled over, to the day you have to face the cop in court, without leaving him any memory of who you are or were. He or she has given out a lot of tickets since then, and not all of them were as civil as you.

Step 4: The Court Date.

So your court date arrives. Undoubtedly, you are nervous. You should be. Nothing is a guarantee but if you've followed all the previous steps, you should stand very good odds. It would be wise of you to spend a few days prior to the court date thinking of how you might argue your case, should the cop show up. Still, don't fear. Even if the cop does show up, it doesn't mean you've lost. More on that later, though.

Once you show up to your court location, there are a couple things you can do to further check on your odds. Courts usually ask you to show up 30 minutes prior to your trial time, but that really isn't necessary. They're just trying to make sure people don't run behind and hold up the process. One thing I can tell you from EVERY SINGLE COURT APPEARANCE I've made: no one wants to be there. From the litigants, to the police, to the judge(especially the judge), to the bailiff and court stenographer. If you've ever been to a traffic court appearance, you can imagine how many ridiculous stories, weak arguments, unprepared statements, and emotion-filled diatribes the judge has had to hear. And most times, you can see it on his or her face.

The first thing you want to do is check the court roster. Courtrooms usually post a roster of trial participants outside the courtroom, usually in the hallway or waiting area. The roster consists of all the cases scheduled to be heard that day, and the names and stations of the police and litigants involved. There are two things you want to check on the roster to give you a little more insight. The first, is the location of the station where the officer who ticketed you is coming from. If it's a further distance away, your chances become just that much better that he or she won't show. The second, more important thing you want to check on the roster, is HOW MANY TIMES THE OFFICER'S NAME APPEARS ON THE DOCKET. Say your cop's name is "Deputy Johnson." You want to check to see how many cases "Deputy Johnson" appears on the roster. If his name appears multiple times, it means he or she has multiple cases scheduled and the chances of him or her showing just went up a little. Very little. It's not a significant increase, because many times I have seen officers' names appearing multiple times but still they failed to show. One time, though, the officer whom I was fighting appeared on the docket several times, and he did show. I still won that case, but it was out of sheer luck. Or was it?

After checking the roster and seeing his name listed several times, I realized he was going to show. I made the mistake of arriving to court more than 30 minutes early, and spent that time doing what all the other early arrivers were doing: nervously staring at the court entrance to see if my officer shows. After seeing his name listed so many times, I knew I was going down. Five minutes prior to the trials beginning, we were all let into the courtroom to wait for roll call. Roll call consists of the judge calling your name, followed by the officer's. If the officer isn't present, you automatically win and your case is dismissed. If you aren't present, you automatically lose. If you and the officer are both present, you haven't automatically lost yet, but more on that later. As far as my officer appearing for many cases that day, I sat in sheer desperation with my head in my hands as I heard the judge call different names and my officer's. Every time I heard him say, "Present your honor and ready for trial," it was like a tiny dagger stabbed my heart. By the time I heard the judge call my name, I could barely squeak out a "here." But then it happened. The judge called my officer's name. Instead of the confident, "present your honor and ready for trial" I had heard so many times, all I heard was the rustling of documents. It continued. I looked up and saw my officer frantically looking through his paperwork. After a few moments of courtroom silence, he finally looked up to the judge and said, "Your honor, I don't recall receiving a subpoena for this case." There was an awkward silence, followed by the voice of the judge announcing, "case dismissed." I felt like I had won the lottery. I leapt out from my depressed position and danced out the door, thanking the judge. I remember meeting the eyes of my officer as I danced out the door, and needless to say- he didn't look happy. It would be very realistic to say that I got completely lucky. It is also very realistic to say that I might've created my own luck by utilizing my past experiences. When that cop pulled me over, I asked him what I did. He explained it to me, and I knew he was right. I was speeding. Not by a lot, but definitely over the speed limit. I was doing 40mph in a 25mph school zone, which some would say is not speeding at all. I didn't see any signs posted, but I wasn't really looking. It was also during non-school hours, which made me feel even more indignant. But I didn't say anything. I just told the officer, "yeah, I guess it was, I really didn't mean to." He told me I shouldn't have been and that he would be right back with my citation. When he returned with it, I signed it, apologized for what I had done, and peacefully drove off. I utilized my payment extension technique until it was finally the day for my trial. You can argue that I got completely lucky that that officer just happened to not receive my subpoena papers, but the fact is he received every other person's who was scheduled to appear that day. You can argue that I got lucky, but I argue that he didn't remember me and didn't remember my case. Why? Because I didn't let him.

But back to your case. Once you've checked the roster and seen how many times your officer's name appears, there's nothing more for you to do than wait. Waiting is the worst part, because there's nothing else to do but stare at the entrance to see if you can remember what your cop looked like. Most people remember a general physique, build, and face of the cop, but after six months it can be hard to recall. It would be wise to try and remember the cop's face when you first get pulled over, but if you can't, don't fret. The real points to remember are the steps getting you up to and beyond this point. Minutes before your scheduled trial time, the courtroom should open to let everyone in. Inside, you'll wait a little bit longer, study faces a little bit longer, and normally your nerves should rise. Stay calm. The most important thing to do once inside the courtroom is to stay calm. Even if you recognize your cop, always stay calm. Just because he or she is here, it doesn't mean you've lost. You still have a few more opportunities coming your way.

Step 5: The Trial.

Once everyone's seated, the court reporter, stenographer or bailiff should explain the process to everyone. If not, here it is:

The judge will "roll-call" every litigant's name, followed by the officer who they're contesting. You must respond with a "hear" or "present," so that the court stenographer can record it. If your officer is not here, congratulations- your case is dismissed. If both you and the officer is here, the judge may or may not ask you one last time if you wish to change your plea to guilty and request traffic school. Should you decide to change your plea to guilty and request traffic school, you are asked to go down the hall to the cashier and pay approximately $40 to register for school. If you cannot make that payment now, a bailiff will give you a note and a due date for when you should. If you do not change your plea and continue on to trial, it is important for you to note that 99% of litigants found guilty no longer receive the option of attending traffic school. You will either win or lose, and your odds of going up against a police officer in a courtroom are not that great. (The court worker won't tell you that, that's just my opinion).

These first few minutes of the courtroom process is where you win or lose. Once the judge calls your name, there are different scenarios that can take place. One, the officer is not present and you win. Congratulations. Two, the officer is present, but responds with "no recall." "No recall" means the officer has come to court to try to outbluff you. He or she wanted you to see that they came, and for you either to run out scared or immediately ask the judge for traffic school. "No recall" means just that- he or she doesn't recall anything about it. I've seen officers do that a few times and never really understood why they showed up to say they don't remember anything. I believe it's either to try to bluff you out, or to receive overtime from their station, who knows.

Thirdly, both you and the officer are present, and both of you are willing to proceed to trial. To be honest, I've never been to that part of the process because I've never had to. I hope you don't either. As I stated before, unless you have visual evidence and strong arguments for your case, I don't think the win-loss ratio of civilians versus police are all that great in traffic cases. It is important to know that half of the time I have been to court, the judge has NOT offered a last opportunity to change your plea and request traffic school. If he or she doesn't, I would advise speaking up and asking the judge if you can, immediately after he or she calls your name. But only, AND ONLY if you see your officer has shown up and you have a good feeling they are ready to testify. The other half of the time, the judges in court have called BOTH NAMES before asking if the contestant would like to change their plea and request traffic school, which leads me to believe that the judge would rather give you a last ditch effort for salvation then to hear another poorly structured argument. In that case, TAKE IT. You didn't beat the system but at least the system didn't beat you.

Epilogue.

Utilize these techniques. Again, it's like the analogy I used to a world-class runner trying to beat a record. You can go into it blindly and take a blind chance at winning, or you can train and utilize the techniques of past record-holders to try and beat it by ten minutes. Worst case scenario, you beat it by two. Over-preparing never hurt anyone, and is arguably the secret to success. Utilize these techniques and I guarantee you will statistically minimize your chances of losing, getting as close to a guaranteed win as possible. I read somewhere that the state of California makes $65 million a year on moving violation citations alone. $65 million! That's like an industry to itself. It was this that first motivated me to try and beat the system, not wanting to be a contributor to an industry I didn't think should be an industry. So far, I've done well. I've beaten the odds and I thank my experienced techniques for it. Aside from them, there is only one other way to guarantee success against moving violations in the state of California:

Drive carefully.

Until then, good luck and enjoy your experience contesting a moving violation citation. It is truly a gratifying experience when you do do it, do it right, and win.