How to Fight a Traffic Ticket

We've all been there, slapped by a cop with an expensive ticket we believe is unfair. Whether you were supposedly going a little too fast, or didn't make a complete stop shelling out over a hundred dollars to keep your license always hurts. Most of us say we're going to take it court, plead our case, and hope for some way to get out of paying. Unfortunately, many of us also put off filling the necessary court forms until its too late, or just forget about it until we get that letter in the mail saying our license is going to be suspended. In the end most of us pay, and city governments all over the country know this. Some even rely on ticket payments as a from of income, racking up millions over the year in speed traps, and routine traffic patrols. In addition to this, the performance of police officers is often tied to how many arrests and citations they complete in a given time frame. Of course this in the end is no excuse for breaking the law, which even if you believe is unfair is still legitimate. The truth is, if you are a careful driver and take great pains to make sure you obey the traffic codes, tickets probably won't be an issue for you. But what about when you do obey the laws and still get a ticket? What if you run into a speed trap and you get pegged in with several cars even though you were doing the limit? Well, both of those things happened to me and I sure wasn't about to give my hard earned money over because someone needed to fill a citation quota.

And here is where the important part comes in, how exactly to go about fighting an unfair speeding ticket, or other moving violation. Now before we continue I'm going to go through the usual disclaimer about this not being professional legal advice. I'm not a lawyer, and don't guarantee any of this is going to work for you, so don't come asking me for $230 because the judge found you guilty. I'm writing from my own experience, and research that I hope helps people to "stick it to the man". Great, now that that's out of the way lets get to it.

The first and most important thing you need to do starts with the actual moment you get pulled over. After getting that awful feeling in your gut when you see those blue and red lights in your rearview many of us get nervous. Its that last vestige of authority that to some degree still has power over you. You feel like you're nine years old, and about to get grounded by your parents. At this point the best thing to do is take a deep breath and remember that you are an adult, and that those lights simply represent your government and the power that you grant it by your consent as a citizen. As he or she gives you instructions follow them calmly and as given. If you need clarification, ask in a clear voice as politely as possible. This is important because many officers are in constant fear over getting shot or hurt in traffic stops. They don't know if you are a homicidal maniac, or a mild mannered soccer mom. If you act nervous or agitated the cop might see you as a potential danger and will in turn behave more aggressively towards you. Also, don't ever argue with the police officer or try to prove that you didn't do what he says you did. Besides making him or her more agitated and belligerent its also going to make you stand out and be remembered later on. Later I'll discuss why its important that the cop remembers as little as possible about you. Most likely, the officer will ask you something along the lines of "Do you know why you were pulled over?". Do not admit that you did anything, just respond with a no. It may be the case that the officer will let you go with a warning if you admit you made a mistake, but if he doesn't you'll just end up incriminating yourself. A good officer will write down everything you said to him as he writes the ticket, so the less you say the less evidence he has against you.

Hopefully, at this point the cop leaves and all you have is a ticket and not a night in jail. Now as soon as you get home, fill out the form included in the citation and mail it out the next day. Some cities have systems to process you court request online or by the phone, but these sometimes don't work until a week or two later giving you more time to forget about it. Also, try and write down everything that happened and as much as you can recollect about what the officer said to you. This will make it easier to refute something later in court, and give you more confidence in what you say to the judge. That is of course if it even gets that far. The main weapon you have in fighting a ticket is simply taking it to court. You will have many times where the officer doesn't even show up, if that happens you get an automatic dismissal. You can also have a good chance of the officer not being ready to present the case against you. He or she may not have their notes, or the proper records. The point here that most of forget is that you are innocent until proven guilty, even for a thirty dollar parking ticket. The state always has the burden to prove you're guilt and if they can't do so beyond a reasonable doubt you get off.

So lets say that the officer does show up, and he or she is ready to present the case against you. What can you do to fight the charges? Well the first thing is placing doubt in the eyes of the Judge about how good the officer's memory is. This is where you being quiet and trying not to be remembered comes in. A simple question such as "are you absolutely sure?" or "could you describe in better detail how exactly I failed to make a complete stop?" If you can get the officer to contradict himself or say "I don't recall exactly" you are one step closer to winning the case. Lawyers do this all the time in all sorts of cases, from civil litigation to capital murder. Go and watch a clip of OJ's defense team in action and you will understand how you can make someone doubt everything the think happened. Sometimes you get the luck of an officer writing a note on the citation he wrote to you, I have used this to refute the testimony of an officer trying to peg a failure to stop at a red light on me. The statement he gave the judge and what he wrote on the citation simply didn't match so I got off.

There are other things beyond the officer's testimony you can refute. Those laser and radar guns the police use to get your speed have specific maintenance and tests that need to be done everyday. They are also limited in their accuracy from certain angles, and when multiple cars are being painted by the beam. A speed trap ticket I received got thrown out because I was behind two cars, and next to another so it was impossible to know which car was the one actually speeding. You can request the officer to describe how they properly checked the device, and also request a copy of the manual for the device used that day. If the instructions on the manual don't match what the officer actually did, then you have another point in your favor. Also the officer has to be properly trained in using a device, and this training has to be updated, so if the officer wasn't trained or isn't up to date better for you. There are other ways of measuring speed, such as pace clocking where the officer gets directly behind you and determines you speed by looking at the speedometer on the dash. These speedometers must be calibrated properly. These records can be requested by you to see if the recorded speed was accurate.

I think by now you see that with a little preparation, and some smart posturing you can at least have a fighting chance of not paying the outrageous fees associated with traffic tickets. Of course there is still a chance that even if you have an air tight defense you judge will still find you guilty. If you have a poor record this can weigh against you, and there is the possibility that all you good arguments will just piss off the judge. The truth is that whether its a traffic ticket, or a criminal charge, sometimes the justice system fails us. Sometimes the innocent do get punished. But the question you need to ask yourself is whether it better to go down fighting, or lay down and surrender your rights as a human being, and a citizen. Seems a bit much for a ticket? Maybe, but if a couple hundred dollars means that you can't pay your bills or if a suspension means you can't drive to work. Then what seems petty to one, is necessity to another. Aside from that, there is the principle that you are innocent until proven guilty, that in this country we believe that justice is not to be dispensed without due process. In the U.S everyone gets their day in court, even you.