Cop wrongfully ticketed me for skipping a red light

[compnovice]

I was ticketed by the police for running a red light. I was on a highway travelling at around 45 mph around 10-15 feet from an intersection when the traffic light became yellow. There was no way I could stop in time so I crossed the intersection (the light was still yellow when I crossed it).

There was a cop beyond the intersection who was letting go someone who he had pulled over. When I stopped at the next light the cop pulled me over and said that I had crossed the previous red light (he was in no position to see as he was around 75-100ft in front of me, beyond the intersection he claims that i skipped the light at). When he pulled me over, he said that I will be getting a ticket in mail since the intersection had a camera, to which I casually replied that I would not since the light was not red.

However, I had stupidly forgotten to renew the registration and inspection of the car and they were expired for 10 days.

So the cop gave me the tickets for registration and inspection, but he also sneaked in the red light ticket which should have come in the mail per his account. I later revisited the intersection and there were no traffic cameras there.

What is the best way to fight the BS red light violation charge (is it even worth fighting it). Is a lawyer necessary (how much do they cost, this is in NJ).

 

[Minerva]

Next time hit the button with the two blocks on it (pause) instead of the arrow pointing right when you see a red light. Skipping a red light! ahahaha!

Need a lawyer for tickets? I use ticketclinic.com all the time. Convert license points to amex points! That's the American way. (well if you want to be truly the American way pay the minimum payment only! heh)

 

[Newbian]

The problem is it's your word vs his and you have no proof or witnesses so you will loose.

 

[FallenHero]

So, just to clarify...the cop physically gave you the red light ticket, or merely told you one would be forthcoming from the camera that doesn't exist?

 

[compnovice]

So, just to clarify...the cop physically gave you the red light ticket, or merely told you one would be forthcoming from the camera that doesn't exist?

He gave me a physical ticket. Since it was along with my other tickets for expired registration and inspection, i did not notice it until the cop went away.

The cop was in no position to see what happened as he was stopped ahead of me in front of the intersection. Since he had already pulled someone over, is there any way to get the records when and where he pulled someone so that I can prove that the cop already beyond the intersection?

 

[ch33kym0use]

Witnesses if required.

 

[rudder]

plead not guilty and hope the cop does not show up on the court date. Without any type of evidence involved... judges will take a cop's word 99.9875% of the time.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Cops are never wrong, and even if they are you're just paying a debt you didn't know you owe to society anyway.

 

[Blackjack200]

plead not guilty and hope the cop does not show up on the court date. Without any type of evidence involved... judges will take a cop's word 99.9875% of the time.

That doesn't work in NJ anymore, the prosecutor will not just let you off, they reschedule you, which means you have to come into court again. Red light + registration + inspection? OP is going to be walking away from the courthouse with a sore asshole and lighter wallet.

 

[Elganja]

get your inspection and registration up to date before you go to court (99% of the time they will drop the tickets and just make you pay court fees)

as far as the red light ticket goes, I would plead guilty (your word < cops word) and ask for mercy

 

[jupiter57]

You're guilty.
Pay the fine.

OH! Be sure to use your magic ATOT Credit Card to pay your fine! You will get back 150&#37; of the cost of the ticket = PROFIT!!!!1111!!!!

 

[bruceb]

Try to work a deal with the prosecutor, if your license is clean. If not, then it will be 2 points added to your driving record, plus whatever the fine is.

 

[Lifted]

Try to work a deal with the prosecutor, if your license is clean. If not, then it will be 2 points added to your driving record, plus whatever the fine is.

Prosecutor? Some states waste lawyers on traffic violations?

 

[Meghan54]

I was ticketed by the police for running a red light. I was on a highway travelling at around 45 mph around 10-15 feet from an intersection when the traffic light became yellow. There was no way I could stop in time so I crossed the intersection (the light was still yellow when I crossed it).

In all honesty, I do question your assertion that you were only 10-15 ft. from the light when it changed to yellow.

Why? Because, traveling at 45mph, you cover 66 ft. every second. So, at 15 ft from the light when it changed, you'd have had no time to even think about stopping at the light.....that first second when it changed, you'd have traveled the 15 ft. to the light and another 51 ft. past the light. All in the one second after the light changed.....and not enough time to see the light change, decide you couldn't make it and then decide to run it. And I don't think most lights change from green to yellow to red in a second or less.

Instead, I postulate you were MUCH further from the light when it changed.....maybe a couple of hundred of feet from it even. In two seconds, you may have had enough time to recognize the light changed, decided you couldn't stop and then decided to run it. Two seconds at 45mph is 132 ft. And I'll bet you were even further back.

15 ft. from the light really meant you only saw the light change as you were moving away from the light, in your rearview mirror (it changed to yellow a 1/4 of a second before you hit the intersection, something the rest of your story negates.)

So, quite possibly the cop was right and you completely misjudged your distances......or the cop just decided to mess with you because you were far past the intersection after that first second after the light changed to yellow.

Add to this that you let your registration lapse for almost two weeks, and I really begin to question your judgment ability. No responsible adult lets his/her auto registration just lapse and ignores it for almost two weeks.

 

[bruceb]

Yes, in NJ there is a county or town prosecutor. He is the only one that can make a plea bargain with you or your attorney. And they are salaried, so this is just part of their job.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Next time walk instead of skipping, they might not notice.

 

[bobdole369]

It matters not "what" the officer was doing beforehand. What will happen is that the officer will swear under oath to the judge that he saw you enter the intersection when the signal was red. Judges situationally take an officers word with more weight than a citizen's (unfortunately for us, even though they aren't really supposed to since everyone is under oath). Thus if you say you didn't do it, you need to provide more proof that you did not. A witness on your side in the passenger seat holds weight (2 vs 1) but again, that weight the officer holds is pretty fierce.

he was around 75-100ft in front of me

The way out here is not to prove the officer he "couldn't see" because that is incredibly hard to do. You weren't actually observing him. He could have been watching you through the rearview while waiting for the computer for example. This strategy would only work with other evidence, impossible for you to obtain as there won't be discovery at a traffic trial.

If its truly you vs him, and you having no firm evidence (video recording device) or subjective evidence (witnesses, etc) - the best you can hope for is a compromise. Often with minor offenses the courts will offer a deal if you plead no contest (and beg the mercy of the court in the process). I got 41 in a 25 ticket (normally $286 + 2 points) reduced to $75 and adjudication withheld this way. Your prior driving record is a BIG part of something like this.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I guess the only way to have proof is to have a car camera, even then, they could just say you edited it.

 

[BabaBooey]

You are wrong as cops can do no wrong,what the hell is wrong with you....

 

[bobdole369]

I guess the only way to have proof is to have a car camera, even then, they could just say you edited it.

Entered into evidence, as part of the trial, its under oath and thus subject to the penalty of perjury. If you are proven to have edited it at any point, you will go to jail. So says the law. However I don't think traffic trials really go through discovery, and I've never tried to enter evidence like that so.......... YMMV

 

[Taughnter]

What is the best way to fight the BS red light violation charge (is it even worth fighting it). Is a lawyer necessary (how much do they cost, this is in NJ).

The short answer is that there is no best way, because the cop is most likely going to say he had a clear view of you going through the red light. For starters, why don't you go back to the scene with a camera and photograph the intersection as well as the position the officer was in when you went through the light. If you can establish that he was sitting in a place where he couldn't have seen you, that might help you out. At the end of the day you're essentially relying on the cop admitting he didn't see OR being able to show that he's an unreliable witness.

The alternative is to try to deal with the prosecutor. In my experience, prosecutors don't want to give you the time of day unless you're an attorney. That doesn't mean they want to go to trial, it simply means they're going to tell you the standard offer. When I got a ticket for this offense in NJ, the ticket was something like $85 and 2 points, and they offered me an alternative of paying something like 300-400 in fines for a plea. The place where I was ticketed was nice enough to give me that info through the municipal court clerk over the phone, so I was able to determine if I wanted to take the plea, pay the usual fine/points, or fight it in court.

As far as getting an attorney: I can't imagine how it could be worthwhile for you to do so. Most attorneys are going to charge you a minimum of $300 for a court appearance and more likely something like $500 to handle this kind of case...maybe more. If you're willing to take the guilty plea, you can almost definitely pay a lesser fine with no points (of course I'm making a lot of assumptions about you not having a bad driving record) and avoid paying some jerk like me to come to court and do what you can do on your own. The big difference for you is that you think the ticket is just bogus and I think without an attorney you'll have a hard time establishing that in a satisfactory way to a judge.

Short version: The cop is going to say you blew the light and unless you can prove you didn't or that he couldn't see you, then the judge will find him to be a reliable witness with nothing to gain from his testimony whereas you are colored by your desire to not have a ticket.

 

[MotF Bane]

Basically, you're screwed.

 

[jtvang125]

Don't forget the part where you sped up to beat the red light.

 

[DrPizza]

I think your judgment of distances is pretty poor, especially if you think that 75 to 100 feet is too far away from an intersection to observe it. That's pretty funny to even think about.

 

[Meghan54]

I think your judgment of distances is pretty poor, especially if you think that 75 to 100 feet is too far away from an intersection to observe it. That's pretty funny to even think about.

I really think he has no concept of distances or a severe inability to judge properly. There's absolutely no way he was 15 feet away from a light going 45 mph and not make it through on the yellow. He covered that 15 feet in 1/4 of a second....and no yellow light that I'm aware of has only a 1/2 second duration.

So, since he doesn't understand 15 feet or able to judge 15 feet accurately, how can you believe he can accurately judge 75-100 feet? The cop was probably 15 feet from the light and the OP was more than likely over 200 feet from the light, given his own admitted circumstances.