traffic court, that is! On Thursday. Any advice? This will be my first time in any sort of a court situation. I have pictures to prove that I couldn't see a handicap yellow marking because it was covered in snow, and also the sign was tilted so you couldn't see it from my car's perspective.
But have any of you ever been to traffic court? Advice?
I'm going to court...
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scb147
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netwolf
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spoon
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Mango Salsa
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Ricardo
I went to court only once, but had a lawyer friend give me very good advice: 1. State the facts of the case, but don't waste the judge's time trying to pursuade him with what you think are supporting, but irrelevant, arguments; 2. Almost immediately you will have a gut feeling whether you won or lost, and your gut will be right.
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Tomas
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My advice - dress really, really sharp (good suit, tie...). You will totally stand out, because most of the other "fellow defendants" will look at least 3-4 leagues below you. Be as polite as possible. You may want to insert "Well, I just returned from Europe, and..." 
If your judge is any similar to mine, he will be biased to treat people "in his own class" better. In my case, it meant reducing the penalty - missing driver's licence ("Well, I just returned from Europe, and I left it in my other wallet." "Oh, really, you were in Europe? Where?") + speeding warning - down to $0.
I was the only one who left with $0 penalty that day - and all the other people hated me so very much when I was going down the isle in the courtroom. 8)
If your judge is any similar to mine, he will be biased to treat people "in his own class" better. In my case, it meant reducing the penalty - missing driver's licence ("Well, I just returned from Europe, and I left it in my other wallet." "Oh, really, you were in Europe? Where?") + speeding warning - down to $0.
I was the only one who left with $0 penalty that day - and all the other people hated me so very much when I was going down the isle in the courtroom. 8)
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Kicksave
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Tomas is right, dress as nice as possible.
Also, don't make anything up. Just admit you're wrong and show remorse for your actions.
My personal experience, I got caught doing 87 in a 65
on a rainy day. I worked for a car dealership at the time and I was driving with a dealer's plate. Well, the plate that I happen to have been using had 4 or 5 DUIs on it. To add salt to the wound, I didn't have the insurance card through my work and I didn't have the license plate where it was supposed to be because I was driving a brand new Chevy Cavalier and the plate kit wasn't installed yet.
Well, I went to court to fight the four tickets the state trooper gave me. To my surprise, the cop actually showed up. He got to talk first and he gave a 5 to 10 minute speach on how his radar gun is damn near flawless when its rainy because I guess he thought I was going to argue that.
All I did was said I was sorry. I explained that it was a dealers plate and I was unaware of the prior DUIs on it. I also had a letter drawn up from the owner of my dealership stating that I was a good worker and that I was following what I was told with the license plate. I claimed that I straight up forgot the proof of insurance in the copier and I also had the salesman who I was driving for there. He was pressuring me to get back fast so that he could sell the car.
She dropped all of the charges except the speeding, she declined it to the bare minimum, no points and a small fine.
Also, don't make anything up. Just admit you're wrong and show remorse for your actions.
My personal experience, I got caught doing 87 in a 65
on a rainy day. I worked for a car dealership at the time and I was driving with a dealer's plate. Well, the plate that I happen to have been using had 4 or 5 DUIs on it. To add salt to the wound, I didn't have the insurance card through my work and I didn't have the license plate where it was supposed to be because I was driving a brand new Chevy Cavalier and the plate kit wasn't installed yet. Well, I went to court to fight the four tickets the state trooper gave me. To my surprise, the cop actually showed up. He got to talk first and he gave a 5 to 10 minute speach on how his radar gun is damn near flawless when its rainy because I guess he thought I was going to argue that.
All I did was said I was sorry. I explained that it was a dealers plate and I was unaware of the prior DUIs on it. I also had a letter drawn up from the owner of my dealership stating that I was a good worker and that I was following what I was told with the license plate. I claimed that I straight up forgot the proof of insurance in the copier and I also had the salesman who I was driving for there. He was pressuring me to get back fast so that he could sell the car.
She dropped all of the charges except the speeding, she declined it to the bare minimum, no points and a small fine.
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relantel
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we (I) got caught dead to rights doing 80 in a 65 on the turnpike extension, just south of the main toll booth, one thanksgiving several years ago. You know, the hill you crest just after having stopped at the toll booth, not far from 119 and New Stanton, but before Arona road. The state cop was really nice, and ended up writing the ticket not for speeding, but failure to obey a highway sign, which was not a moving violation. (Never mind that these out of state things never make it back to VA).
We were dead to rights, so we paid that one without a second thought. But I had been stopped a couple of times in Virginia, once in Fairfax County in 1999, and the other in Manassas City in 2000, where I did fight them, once for speeding, and another time for alledgedly running a stop sign. Got both thrown out by the respective judge on technicalities -- one got the date wrong, i.e. right day of week, wrong date (officer was four days off), and the other, the cop admitted she had seen my car stopped, and that she couldn't see the white line on the pavement.
Long story short, if there is evidence that supports your claim, you might stand a decent chance of winning. It is not impossible to win on such things. But unless you have convincing evidence, traffic/parking violations in this country are more often treated guilty until proven innocent. If it is in PA, beware some jurisdictions charge you more to plead not-guilty than to pay & plead guilty. (Had that happen across the river from Harrisburg back in 1993)
We were dead to rights, so we paid that one without a second thought. But I had been stopped a couple of times in Virginia, once in Fairfax County in 1999, and the other in Manassas City in 2000, where I did fight them, once for speeding, and another time for alledgedly running a stop sign. Got both thrown out by the respective judge on technicalities -- one got the date wrong, i.e. right day of week, wrong date (officer was four days off), and the other, the cop admitted she had seen my car stopped, and that she couldn't see the white line on the pavement.
Long story short, if there is evidence that supports your claim, you might stand a decent chance of winning. It is not impossible to win on such things. But unless you have convincing evidence, traffic/parking violations in this country are more often treated guilty until proven innocent. If it is in PA, beware some jurisdictions charge you more to plead not-guilty than to pay & plead guilty. (Had that happen across the river from Harrisburg back in 1993)
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Mango Salsa
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Peter