Completely bogus speeding ticket - best option?

[Saurdaukar]

Long story short - LEO stopped me and claimed 71 in a 55.

Given the circumstances at the time (changing lanes and slowing to exit), there is no possible way I was traveling 71MPH.

He used a laser.  $90 citation and 2 points.  I'll pay the fine - dont want the points.  Last ticket was 3 years ago in June... just dropped off insurance.

I have three options:

1.) Pay.

2.)  Request waiver hearing (guilty with explanation).  

3.)  Do nothing and a court date will be set (or an arrest warrant...).

I do not want to simply pay the fine.  I will not admit guilt "with an explanation" and I dont wish to do "nothing."

Anyone else ever find themselves in this situation?  I'm a big supporter of LEO's but this guy is off his rocker with his claimed speed (not to mention rude as hell).  Whatcha think?

[BowHTR]

Long story short - LEO stopped me and claimed 71 in a 55.

Given the circumstances at the time (changing lanes and slowing to exit), there is no possible way I was traveling 71MPH.

He used a laser.  $90 citation and 2 points.  I'll pay the fine - dont want the points.  Last ticket was 3 years ago in June... just dropped off insurance.

I have three options:

1.) Pay.

2.)  Request waiver hearing (guilty with explanation).  

3.)  Do nothing and a court date will be set (or an arrest warrant...).

I do not want to simply pay the fine.  I will not admit guilt "with an explanation" and I dont wish to do "nothing."

Anyone else ever find themselves in this situation?  I'm a big supporter of LEO's but this guy is off his rocker with his claimed speed (not to mention rude as hell).  Whatcha think?

Best option, take it to court. Ask to see the last time the laser was calibrated. If i remember correctly, the gun should be calibrated everyday. If the gun was not calibrated that day, you should get out easy.

[canacka]

You can set a court date and if your lucky, the LEO won't show up and it will be trown out.  If he does show up. explain just what you did here.  That you'll pay the fine but you would be greatful for the points to be removed.  I had a friend do that by stating he just couldn't afford a higher insurance rate.  He paid the ticket without any points.  But going to court is probably your best option for what you want out of this circumstance.

[shppr01]

The same thing happened to me ! I went and stood before the judge and simply said i was not debating the ticket , but the actual speed.
Usually the judge will throw the points out and just charge the ticket. I paid 50.00 and no points !

[crazyivan]

You can set a court date and if your lucky, the LEO won't show up and it will be trown out.  If he does show up. explain just what you did here.  That you'll pay the fine but you would be greatful for the points to be removed.  I had a friend do that by stating he just couldn't afford a higher insurance rate.  He paid the ticket without any points.  But going to court is probably your best option for what you want out of this circumstance.

Little luck he wont show. You made him get out of the car of course he was alittle moody.freakin hot out there. JK  

[Vulcan]

Do some research, iirc some states in the US have banned lasers due to inaccuracy issues. The beam starts to spread at range, they are susceptible to other IR light sources (the sun, halogen lights, fluorescent lights etc).

Few years back I had the same thing, pretty sure the cop picked up a guy coming up behind me. I nodded, paid my ticket, and fitted a nice Bel laser jammer to my vehicle.  Haven't looked back since

[Dago]

find out if that dept uses dash cams.  If so, you can request a copy of the tape when he observed you, pulled you over and ticketed you.  Request a copy of calibration records for the equipment he used, and his training records.  Definitely go to court and explain to the judge the situation.

Don't go easy into that dark night.

[falcon23]

Find out his day off( not sure how to do this) and ask for that date to be court date..I know people have done it and leo didnt show.

[Obie303]

A couple of things.  Was the Lidar unit hand held or vehicle mounted?  I'm not familiar with vehicle mounted but hand held Lidar is target specific.  Meaning that the beam is (depending on the model) 6 to 12 inches wide at it's furthest point.  I have never heard of a state banning the use of Lidar, but I'm not positive of this.  

You could try a few things.  First, request a copy of the officer's certificate for their training on Lidar and also request the certificate showing the last date the Lidar unit was tested.  Ask the courts in your state how to request that information.  Photographs of your vehicle and the road you were traveling will help in your defense.  Be prepared for anything the Officer may ask.  

One final option is if you know any lawyer friends.  Maybe they can represent you for an hour.

Lastly, good luck.  I know that most people would be OK with paying the fines for speeding, it's the damn points that go against you and your insurance premiums going up that stink.  It's not right that they are allowed to do that.

[Raptor]

Long story short - LEO stopped me and claimed 71 in a 55.

Given the circumstances at the time (changing lanes and slowing to exit), there is no possible way I was traveling 71MPH.

He used a laser.  $90 citation and 2 points.  I'll pay the fine - dont want the points.  Last ticket was 3 years ago in June... just dropped off insurance.

I have three options:

1.) Pay.

2.)  Request waiver hearing (guilty with explanation).  

3.)  Do nothing and a court date will be set (or an arrest warrant...).

I do not want to simply pay the fine.  I will not admit guilt "with an explanation" and I dont wish to do "nothing."

Anyone else ever find themselves in this situation?  I'm a big supporter of LEO's but this guy is off his rocker with his claimed speed (not to mention rude as hell).  Whatcha think?

One thing I did was got my speedometer calibrated. They are usually off and you can get it dropped or reduced.

[eagl]

Find out his day off( not sure how to do this) and ask for that date to be court date..I know people have done it and leo didnt show.

My CHP dad loved it when he had to go to court on a day off...  It cost him 3 hours of his time and he got paid double overtime to do very little except explain what he saw, what section of the motor vehicle code covered the violation, and if pressed on how he was "rude", also discuss which additional violations did not make it onto the ticket (that burned out tail light, broken bumper bracket, tire worn beyond legal limits, etc).

That said, by all means take it to court and explain it to the judge.  I do know that in TX, "deferred adjudication" is usually the way to go.  You basically don't contest the ticket and if you have no other tickets in a year it drops off your record.  You're also pretty much stuck doing the driver safety school online in order to get the points dropped.

I got a dumb ticket (wasn't trying to go fast but let the car coast down into a decreasing speed limit zone just a bit too fast) and just did the deferred adjudication with the online traffic school.  It cost me over $200 for 12 over in a 50/40/30 (consistently 12 over as I passed each sign) which was pretty retarded, but I guess I should have been paying more attention.

[ozrocker]

Best Bet- Get a lawyer. They can usually get the points off out of the plea deal. Maybe get you off with a fine and costs.  Maybe the cop won't show. Good luck !

                                                                                                                  <S> Oz

[SIK1]

I wouldn't know.  

 I never got a ticket I didn't deserve.  

[Maverick]

I wouldn't know.  

 I never got a ticket I didn't deserve.  

Not picking on ya by quoting you. Just want to note that the only thing he seems to be disputing is the amount of the speed not that he was over the limit.

[cattb]

  Here, where I live you can make a appointment and see the DA. A appointment will be made and a assistant DA will be at the meeting. The last meeting I had several years ago I explained I was slowing down, going down hill from the 25 MPH warning sign from a 55MPH. The other sign came up pretty fast and yes I was over 10 MPH of the 25 speed limit and I will never let it never happen again. They dropped the ticket.
 I guess there had been complaints about excessive speed on that hill going into town, and also the cop that gave me the ticket was parked right accross the street (back aways) unseen right at the 25MPH sign.