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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Arlington, VA

    Fighting a speeding ticket

    I was wondering if anyone has any advice on fighting a speeding ticket. I just received a "photo enforced ticket" in the mail. It claims I was going 11-15 over the speed limit, which is something I would never intentionally do.

    The incident is dated on my birthday (yeah that makes it suck even more). I actually had to look up the road on which the ticket said the infraction occurred to determine if I was indeed driving on this road I had never heard of. I was on my way to meet friends for dinner in an area I had never driven in before. At that point I was completely lost because I had come to a fork in the road which had no street signs to indicate what the two roads were. My guess is that this area is some sort of speed trap where the speed limit suddenly drops and that I just didn't see it because I was trying to look at street signs to figure out where I was. Plus I have out of state tags, so they probably targeted me for that.

    And they have doubled my fine because this is supposedly the second notice of this ticket. But I never received a first notice.

    So I guess my main questions are:

    Do I request a court date or just try adjudication by mail? My brother-in-law says that if I go to court to fight the ticket, that I'll have to pay court costs, which would kind of defeat the purpose of trying to get my fines lessened (especially adding in the lost income for having to take time off work to go to court). But another friend says that by just showing up to court, there's a good chance of getting the fines lessened and that they might waive the court costs too.

    Do I take the approach of trying to get the whole thing dropped or should I just be asking for them to lower the fine?

    What sort of arguments would be considered valid? I truly would never intentionally go that much over the speed limit. I have no previous infractions on my driving record. And if I had received the original notice, I would have responded immediately. Can I appeal to the fact that I'm a fiscally responsible individual with an excellent credit report who always pays my bills on time as evidence that I would not have ignored the ticket?

    I think it's the whole doubling of the fine thing that has really set me off about this. It's two months after the infraction occurred, and I'm just now getting the ticket. That's ridiculous. Plus I really can't afford to pay the full amount or it's going to be a long month of Ramen noodles for dinner.

    Any advice would be appreciated!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Go to court, throw yourself in its mercy. Mail won't accomplish much beyond just ending the proceeding. At your court session, explain that you never did get the first notice; that you were lost - basically, what you just told us. Your friend is right, chances are good you'll at least get your fine lessened, if not waived entirely. (still expect to pay court costs.)

    Also, if you had out of state plates and are now a Virginia resident, you better walk into court with Virginia drivers license & registration. (Arlington sucks about enforcing taxation & licensing - ask me about my yearlong battle from across country sometime.)

    I don't remember if Virginia has the "stay clean for a year, get this taken off your record" deferment option, but it might be worth investigating as well.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    New Orleans
    A few thoughts, from the viewpoint of someone who used to defend traffic cases in Northern Virginia.

    There might be court costs already built into your fine, even if you went ahead and paid it. The last time I got a ticket -- in Louisiana -- the court costs, or administrative costs or whatever they were, amounted to more than the fine. So it's possible that court costs if you go to trial won't come to more than your current assessment.

    If you go to court, get in line with the lawyers to talk to the prosecutor before court. (to be continued in the next post -- my computer is swallowing long posts)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    New Orleans
    Chances are the prosecutor will knock something off the fine. Now, if you had a lawyer, especially one who practiced regularly in the jurisdiction, chances are very good that either the prosecutor or judge would be accommodating to you, since they assume you must have a legitimate gripe if you've gone to the trouble and expense to hire a lawyer, and there's some measure of professional courtesy in small cases. It's possible to get one on the cheap, if you dig one up the morning of court at the courthouse. Offer one of them 50 bucks to take your case and see what he says. It's probably worth his while since he has to be in court anyway, and he might be able to save you a couple hundred.

    If you go to trial by yourself, remember the burden of proof is on the prosecution. These photo evidence cases are after my time, so I don't know how they work, but keep your brain engaged and you might be able to poke some holes in the case. Don't be intimidated by the courtroom setting; traffic court is pretty informal. Just offer your testimony as you did here -- you never drive that fast, and you didn't get the first notice.

    I think you can probably save some money going to court, but it will cost you most of a morning. Good luck.

  5. #5
    Don't do the cr...oh sorry.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Asheville, NC
    I'm not a lawyer, but I had a similar situation (lost, hit a speed trap of 35 dropped from 65 in the middle of nowhere). I hired a lawyer, cost me the court costs and a small amount--saved me lots on my insurance and a day of my time (which was worth it). I called the local chamber of commerce, got a list of lawyers, and went from there (I did not hire someone who sent me the card about how they could save me from my ticket).

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Arlington, VA
    Thanks for the advice everyone! It's helpful to hear from others who have been in similar situations. Let's hope this is the only time I have deal with something like this!

  8. #8
    Just find a lawyer in the area pay them 200 dollars to get it dropped completely... thats always been the end of it for me.

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