Should I take my ticket to court?

[SteveBallmer]

This incident happened on Feb. 25th, 2007. - quota myth?

It was snowing pretty badly earlier this morning. When I was driving, however, the snow has stopped and the roads were pretty clean (subjective). There was a state trooper car in front of me. The speed limit is 70MPH and I was going 60MPH. The squad car flashed his siren lights for one second while he was in front of me. Apparently, it was supposed to be a signal to slow down, but how was I supposed to know? I was clearly going under the speed limit. So I decided to pass the squad car at 65MPH. When I passed him, he turned on his lights and pulled me over and handed me a ticket. This was my first ticket ever.

Should I bring this to court?

Edit: The ticket says "failure to reduce speed" and the state trooper told me to give the court house a call for the fine amount. The fine turned out to be $127. The ticket doesn't even say what speed I was traveling at.

Edit 2: My parents said they'll pay for it since I'm a college student and don't have a job, but I still feel guilty that they're paying for my mistake.

Edit 3: From the comments posted, some people say I should pay the fine, and some are telling me to go to court. Since there's not a straight forward answer, I'll probably take this to court.

I'm looking at the court fees, but I'm not sure which one is right. Is the "Request for Jury Trial" for $75 the right one for my case? I may just pay the fine instead; if I lose it's $200 for a stupid ticket.

http://www.courts.state.mn.us/district/6/?page=1348

 

[AlienCraft]

Sure, you'll need a lecture on the Basic Speed Law from a judge who will have the power to impose additional penalties, Like traffic school.

It's the officer's perspective of what is SAFE vs UNSAFE the court will accede to. He's an officer of the court, and undoubtedly will have experience and training that will be more influential than your opinion.

 

[BoomerD]

Yep, AC hit it on the head. The only thing that you MIGHT accomplish by taking it to court, is to get the fine reduced, and (if allowed in your state) the option for traffic school to keep it off your driving record.

 

[doze]

Was this a speeding ticket or other like careless driving?

 

[DainBramaged]

I would take it to court so I can keep it off my driving record and keep the insurance co from finding out.

 

[mugs]

You're a billionaire, just pay it.

 

[Sphexi]

I'd say take it to court, flashing his lights/siren at you isn't some universal signal to slow down, I would've taken it to back off of him only. Then again, I wouldn't have passed a cop car under any circumstances, that's just asking for trouble. Best you can probably hope for is a reduction because you didn't know what his meaning was when he flashed his lights at you, maybe they won't give you any points, just a straight fine.

 

[funboy6942]

Wait a min here, I dont think a cop had the right to tell him or give him a ticket. the posted speed limit is the posted speed limit. It is up to the person driving the car to base his or her speed on road and weather conditions to limit their speed to anything lower then that. I dont think the cop had any right to give you the ticket at all, you were not speeding, in your car you felt you had a handle on things and you passed him, he had a boner and didnt like you passing him so he used his long arm of the law to pass judgment that he knows better to give you a ticket.

Not once in the driving test for a car or when I got my cdl did I ever see it say it it is raining out, or snowing, and a cop is doing 55 in a 65 it is against the law to pass that officer up if you feel road condition warrant it otherwise. HELL they cant give you a ticket because you took a turn doing 45 around a corner when the orange sign with the arrow had 40mph under it. That a suggested safe speed, not mandatory and legal to give a ticket under. So hell yes, OP I would get a rules for the road book for your state, read it front to back, and if no where in the book it says anything about if a cop flashes his lights at you it means to slow down, or if it is snowing and you pass a cop he can give you a ticket, bring the book to court, plead not guilty, and ask the judge to point out on what page it says so he had the right to hand you a ticket for it. The book should say you are to limit you speed according to road conditions and what you feel is safe, but not for what the officer di with the flashing lights and then handing you a ticket for passing him and were not even speeding doing it.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: funboy42
Wait a min here, I dont think a cop had the right to tell him or give him a ticket. the posted speed limit is the posted speed limit. It is up to the person driving the car to base his or her speed on road and weather conditions to limit their speed to anything lower then that. I dont think the cop had any right to give you the ticket at all, you were not speeding, in your car you felt you had a handle on things and you passed him, he had a boner and didnt like you passing him so he used his long arm of the law to pass judgment that he knows better to give you a ticket.

Not once in the driving test for a car or when I got my cdl did I ever see it say it it is raining out, or snowing, and a cop is doing 55 in a 65 it is against the law to pass that officer up if you feel road condition warrant it otherwise. HELL they cant give you a ticket because you took a turn doing 45 around a corner when the orange sign with the arrow had 40mph under it. That a suggested safe speed, not mandatory and legal to give a ticket under. So hell yes, OP I would get a rules for the road book for your state, read it front to back, and if no where in the book it says anything about if a cop flashes his lights at you it means to slow down, or if it is snowing and you pass a cop he can give you a ticket, bring the book to court, plead not guilty, and ask the judge to point out on what page it says so he had the right to hand you a ticket for it. The book should say you are to limit you speed according to road conditions and what you feel is safe, but not for what the officer di with the flashing lights and then handing you a ticket for passing him and were not even speeding doing it.

Cop can give you a ticket for too fast for conditions.

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/pg/3/ob...B69-4EED-A34B6F4035C8BE0E/104/263/ART/
""Absolute" speed states set an upper limit, above which your speed is considered illegal. Drive one mile over the limit and you are a law breaker. But these states also have a way to ticket you when you are driving under the speed limit if an officer concludes your speed was unsafe. Called the "basic" speed law, it prohibits driving at an unsafe speed, even if that speed is below the posted limit.

In all states, tickets for driving under the speed limit, but too fast to be safe, are often referred to as "driving too fast for conditions." For example, driving exactly at the 65 mph posted limit on the freeway would not be smart amidst slower and heavy traffic, in a dense fog, or in a driving rainstorm or blizzard.

The difference between fighting one of these tickets and a speeding ticket for going over the speed limit is that here the prosecution has the burden of proving you were driving unsafely. (Again, that's because the posted speed limit is presumed to be safe.) This means the officer must testify that, given the unusual road, weather, or traffic conditions, your below-the-limit speed was unsafe. This can be tough to do unless you were involved in an accident, since the cop may be hard put to come up with enough hard evidence to rebut the presumption established by the posted limit."

 

[SVT Cobra]

You passed a cop? Christ that was stupid, it makes me wonder what else you do not know you should not do.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
You passed a cop? Christ that was stupid, it makes me wonder what else you do not know you should not do.

1. Walk down the street while holding a beer and urinating.

 

[funboy6942]

Well I stand corrected. I have aced my passenger test back when I was 16, 19 years ago, and my CDL test, and I have past numerous cops in the snow and rain and never been pulled over. I have no problem passing up a police officer on the road at all. They put their pants on the same way as I, and if a cop wants to do 50 in a 55 I pass then as I would any other person and have never been pulled over for it, rain, snow, sunny day, never mattered to me. Sorry OP, I stand by my comment though that the cop had a boner for you.

 

[smitbret]

Most cops are just a$$holes that got picked on in high school anyway; abusing their authority is their way to justify their existence. You need to find out when his day off is, usually best done by calling the police station every day and asking for him until they till you that he is off duty that day. Then delay or move your trial to that day of the week. Odds are that the guy won't even show up.
-Brett

 

[hjo3]

SteveBallmer
Junior Member

Posts: 1
Joined: 03/02/2007

Obligatory WWYBYWB.

 

[helpme]

Just throw a chair at him.

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
You passed a cop? Christ that was stupid, it makes me wonder what else you do not know you should not do.

 

[Sukhoi]

That's one I would take to court. It should be much easier to get a speeding ticket of that nature dropped down to driving school or something similar. That cop was really an asshole to give you a ticket and not a warning.

I have another good cop story from a couple days ago. I was getting on a fairly deserted interstate right behind a cop. Maybe a half mile after entering we come upon a disabled minivan on the shoulder. It was obviously recent as the hazard lights were on. Does the cop stop to see if everything is alright? Nope, he roars off in front of me to set a speed trap a couple miles up the road. Serving the public! :roll:

 

[FoBoT]

pay the ticket, you are guilty

 

[MisterJackson]

Originally posted by: smitbret
Most cops are just a$$holes that got picked on in high school anyway; abusing their authority is their way to justify their existence. You need to find out when his day off is, usually best done by calling the police station every day and asking for him until they till you that he is off duty that day. Then delay or move your trial to that day of the week. Odds are that the guy won't even show up.
-Brett

And most guys named Brett are d1ckless scrotums.....see, I can make generalizations too.

OP, I would think the whole thing is open to interpretation, but from what you told me you seem like your speed was safe for the conditions in your opinion. What were the other cars in the area doing? Now if they were all going 30 and you 60, then I can see the cops point.

 

[Whisper]

From what I know, these types of tickets are the ones most-often overturned by traffic court judges. As other posters have mentioned, a lot is going to be determined by what other cars on the road were doing. But if you respectfully state your case to the judge, I'd say there's a decent chance the ticket will be thrown out. If not, you can always plead not guilty and try to convince a jury of your peers that you were in the right.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
You passed a cop? Christ that was stupid, it makes me wonder what else you do not know you should not do.

1. Walk down the street while holding a beer and urinating.

Next, that will be against the law.

 

[SteveBallmer]

Originally posted by: MisterJackson

Originally posted by: smitbret
Most cops are just a$$holes that got picked on in high school anyway; abusing their authority is their way to justify their existence. You need to find out when his day off is, usually best done by calling the police station every day and asking for him until they till you that he is off duty that day. Then delay or move your trial to that day of the week. Odds are that the guy won't even show up.
-Brett

And most guys named Brett are d1ckless scrotums.....see, I can make generalizations too.

OP, I would think the whole thing is open to interpretation, but from what you told me you seem like your speed was safe for the conditions in your opinion. What were the other cars in the area doing? Now if they were all going 30 and you 60, then I can see the cops point.

All the cars were going about 60-70.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: hjo3

SteveBallmer
Junior Member

Posts: 1
Joined: 03/02/2007

Obligatory WWYBYWB.

Probably BillGates

 

[state 08]

You're going to fight the ticket, but be smart about it.

Call the court office, and tell them you want to schedule a court date. They will mail you a date for your hearing. IMMEDIATELY call the court, and tell them you can't make it to the said date. They'll send you another court date in the mail. Repeat this process until they don't allow you to do so anymore.

(I was able to do it 3 times. That's a timespan of 7 months!)

You want to increase probability of the fact that the officer will not show up to court. If he's been giving out a lot of tickets that day, then there's a good chance he will show for any people who choose to oppose the ticket. Smaller chance he'll show up if it's several months down the road from the actual ticket date.

Although, this is not always the case. The pig still showed up for me, after half a year, so be prepared to give a good explanation why you are not guilty.

I was able to get off with just the fine and no pointage.