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A brain busting speeding ticket.

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brent0025

Member
What is the name of your state? TX

If someone can answer this that would be great... I received a speeding ticket about a month ago and it said on the bottom of the ticket to appear in court on or before the September 30th. So I walked into the court house expecting to sign up for defensive driving for the ticket and be on my way..But... the lady said that the ticket had never been filed and the police officer never turned it in. I said "ok where do we go from here?" She said come back on friday which would be September 30th and if the police officer hasnt turned in the ticket the ticket it would be dismissed. Well I go back on the 30th to see if the ticket had been turned in and was hoping that the ticket never go turned in. Here is where it gets interesting... I am talking to a differnet lady this time, she neither can find the ticket in the system... She asks if I have the ticket on me and I say no i dont.. She pulls up my last name, my drivers license number etc and no matches... I then said well the lady told me that if the police officer hasnt turned in the ticket by the 30 its a dismissal right? She says yea but the only way we can get the ticket dismissed is if you have your copy of the ticket. Here is where the deceiving part comes into play..I question whether I should show my ticket or not since this is the only proof that it exists...She says the only way i cant get it dismissed is if I show the ticket... Well I do and magically she somehow manages to find the orginal white copy tucked away in one of the file cabinets and now says it cant be dismissed because they have found their copy. "What BULL****"!!! I say, and tell her that this ticket would of never been found if I hadnt shown my ticket.. Now its time to shake the foundations of the judicial system because I knew they would try and screw me on this one....Any legal advice would be great because they sound fairly ****ty to me, oh and please just dont say get and attorney or just pay the fine because that doesnt help..... kthanx
 


BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
brent0025 said:
What is the name of your state? TX

If someone can answer this that would be great... I received a speeding ticket about a month ago and it said on the bottom of the ticket to appear in court on or before the September 30th. So I walked into the court house expecting to sign up for defensive driving for the ticket and be on my way..But... the lady said that the ticket had never been filed and the police officer never turned it in. I said "ok where do we go from here?" She said come back on friday which would be September 30th and if the police officer hasnt turned in the ticket the ticket it would be dismissed. Well I go back on the 30th to see if the ticket had been turned in and was hoping that the ticket never go turned in. Here is where it gets interesting... I am talking to a differnet lady this time, she neither can find the ticket in the system... She asks if I have the ticket on me and I say no i dont.. She pulls up my last name, my drivers license number etc and no matches... I then said well the lady told me that if the police officer hasnt turned in the ticket by the 30 its a dismissal right? She says yea but the only way we can get the ticket dismissed is if you have your copy of the ticket. Here is where the deceiving part comes into play..I question whether I should show my ticket or not since this is the only proof that it exists...She says the only way i cant get it dismissed is if I show the ticket... Well I do and magically she somehow manages to find the orginal white copy tucked away in one of the file cabinets and now says it cant be dismissed because they have found their copy. "What BULL****"!!! I say, and tell her that this ticket would of never been found if I hadnt shown my ticket.. Now its time to shake the foundations of the judicial system because I knew they would try and screw me on this one....Any legal advice would be great because they sound fairly ****ty to me, oh and please just dont say get and attorney or just pay the fine because that doesnt help..... kthanx
Any legal advice? Grow up and pay the fine. :rolleyes:
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
brent0025 said:
What is the name of your state? TX
....Any legal advice would be great because they sound fairly ****ty to me, oh and please just dont say get and attorney or just pay the fine because that doesnt help..... kthanx

**A: ok, then DO NOT get an attorney and DO NOT pay the fine.
 

brent0025

Member
Well I was hoping to speak to a defense attorney or a judge or someone with some legal expertise that can cut through this BS. Pay the fine I can do, its not a money factor. But these people that work in these court houses are heartless and like to screw people out of their money everyday. True, its just a speeding ticket but its the principal of the matter...If u say the ticket is going to be dismissed because the officer never turned it in on the due date then dismiss it. But dont ask for my ticket to try and deceive in showing the only evidence that u have that the ticket exists, and then say i have to show it to get it dismissed and then use that ticket against met to say, "theres the ticket!" What a lie!!!
 
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Curt581

Senior Member
brent0025 said:
Well I was hoping to speak to a defense attorney or a judge or someone with some legal expertise that can cut through this BS.
Then call one. There are plenty in your local Yellow Pages.
Pay the fine I can do, its not a money factor. But these people that work in these court houses are heartless and like to screw people out of their money everyday. True, its just a speeding ticket but its the principal of the matter
Nothing in your post that suggests you weren't speeding.

You're not going to get any sympathy for the cruel indignities you suffered at the hands of heartless court clerks. Complaining about it only makes you look like a whiner.

The only "principle" is... Were you speeding?
If u say the ticket is going to be dismissed because the officer never turned it in on the due date then dismiss it.
Court clerks have NO authority to dismiss anything. They can usually predict what a Judge would do under certain circumstances, nothing more.
But dont ask for my ticket to try and deceive in showing the only evidence that u have that the ticket exists, and then say i have to show it to get it dismissed and then use that ticket against met to say, "theres the ticket!" What a lie!!!
I doubt very much that's what happened. More likely is that the original was simply misfiled, or entered into the database under a typo. The clerk asked for your copy to get the citation number. Once she had that, the original was found.

Bottom line, you were speeding and got a ticket. Why not grow up and accept responsibility for your actions?
 
Thats a pretty crappy situation. Personally I would not have shown them my copy that being said I think it could be too much hassle to use thier ****up as a way to get out of this ticket.

What were the circumstances of your ticket? What was the speed limit, what was your speed, and what were the driving conditions?

Unless you were driving stupidly, I think you could get out of it just by going to trial.

In Texas it is not illegal to drive over the speed limit.

In Texas it is illegal to drive at an unreasonable speed given the circumstances.

The prosecutor can use the fact that you were driving over the speed limit as evidence that your speed wasnt reasonable, but that alone doesnt necessarily make it so.

Alot of times just pleading not guilty and requesting a jury trial for a speeding ticket can be enough to make it go away since they dont want to go though all the work to get your $100+ dollars.
 

brent0025

Member
Thanks Jack David for the advice, you showed why this site is called a free legal advice forum. Yea it was a terrible situation, if the ticket was in the system then I would of paid without a problem. But the one clerk cant tell me one thing and then another tell me another to screw me out of my money...If its not filed then dismiss it, seems fair.... I almost didnt show her my ticket then it would of been lost forever more then likely. But I made sure I heard from her mouth first that " If you show me the ticket then I can dismiss it if it isnt filed on the due date on the bottom of the ticket". I was then deceived, now that I look back on it and this goes for anyone in this situation. Just dont show your ticket and dont trust the county court clerks, more then likely this ticket would of been lost forever and the only record keeping that it actually exists is the copy you have stored away..
 

BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
Jack_David said:
Thats a pretty crappy situation. Personally I would not have shown them my copy that being said I think it could be too much hassle to use thier ****up as a way to get out of this ticket.

What were the circumstances of your ticket? What was the speed limit, what was your speed, and what were the driving conditions?

Unless you were driving stupidly, I think you could get out of it just by going to trial.
Now THAT is real Legal advice... :rolleyes:
In Texas it is not illegal to drive over the speed limit.
I think the Texas state legislature would disagree with you.

§ 545.352. PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMITS.

(a) A speed in excess of the limits established by Subsection (b) or under another provision of this subchapter is prima facie evidence that the speed is not reasonable and prudent and that the speed is unlawful.

Text of subsec.
(b) as amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 663, § 2 and Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 739, § 1
(b) Unless a special hazard exists that requires a slower speed for compliance with Section 545.351
(b), the following speeds are lawful:

(1) 30 miles per hour in an urban district on a street other than an alley and 15 miles per hour in an alley;
(2) 70 miles per hour in daytime and 65 miles per hour in nighttime if the vehicle is a passenger car, motorcycle, passenger car or light truck towing a trailer bearing a vessel, as defined by Section 31.003, Parks and Wildlife Code, that is less than 26 feet in length, passenger car or light truck towing a trailer or semitrailer used primarily to transport a motorcycle, or passenger car or light truck towing a trailer or semitrailer designed and used primarily to transport dogs or livestock, on a highway numbered by this state or the United States outside an urban district, including a farm-to-market or ranch-to-market road;
(3) 60 miles per hour in daytime and 55 miles per hour in nighttime if the vehicle is a passenger car or motorcycle on a highway that is outside an urban district and not a highway numbered by this state or the United States;
(4) 60 miles per hour outside an urban district if a speed limit for the vehicle is not otherwise specified by this section; or
(5) outside an urban district: (A) 60 miles per hour if the vehicle is a school bus that has passed a commercial motor vehicle inspection under Section 548.201 and is on a highway numbered by the United States or this state, including a farm-to-market road;

(B) 50 miles per hour if the vehicle is a school bus that: (i) has not passed a commercial motor vehicle inspection under Section 548.201; or (ii) is traveling on a highway not numbered by the United States or this state; or (C) 60 miles per hour in daytime and 55 miles per hour in nighttime if the vehicle is a truck, other than a light truck, or if the vehicle is a truck tractor, trailer, or semitrailer, or a vehicle towing a trailer other than a trailer described by Subdivision (2), semitrailer, another motor vehicle or towable recreational vehicle

In Texas it is illegal to drive at an unreasonable speed given the circumstances.
Good guess
The prosecutor can use the fact that you were driving over the speed limit as evidence that your speed wasnt reasonable, but that alone doesnt necessarily make it so.
It's called a prima facia case and places the burden of proof right back on the idiot who was speeding.
Alot of times just pleading not guilty and requesting a jury trial for a speeding ticket can be enough to make it go away since they dont want to go though all the work to get your $100+ dollars.
and of course, you can post here the exact statute that this poster would use to demand such a JURY trial.... :rolleyes:
 
BelizeBreeze said:
I think the Texas state legislature would disagree with you.
I think you misread and misinterpret law.

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/TN/content/htm/tn.007.00.000545.00.htm#545.351.00

§ 545.351. MAXIMUM SPEED REQUIREMENT. (a) An operator
may not drive at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent
under the circumstances then existing.
That there is the actual law, if you "speeding" then that is the law that is being violated.

What you posted.

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/TN/content/htm/tn.007.00.000545.00.htm#545.352.00

§ 545.352. PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMITS. (a) A speed in
excess of the limits established by Subsection (b) or under another
provision of this subchapter is prima facie evidence that the speed
is not reasonable and prudent and that the speed is unlawful.
Merely states that if you are going over speed limits then that is prima facie evidence that can be used against you.

It's called a prima facia case and places the burden of proof right back on the idiot who was speeding.
Depending on the speeds involved and the circumstances that burden can be very low, but like I said it all depends.

I've gotten out of tickets twice by pleading not guilty and requesting a jury trial. Although the speeds the officers claimed I was going werent all that much to begin with.

One was in the city they claimed I was going 40 in a 30. Other one was going out of town claimed 79 in a 70.

First one I dont think I was actually going 40 but I was definately going over 30, and the 2nd one I think I was actually going 80ish.

But I fought them because 1st I didnt want to give up what accounts to about 10 hours of me working just to pay them, and 2nd I think its bull**** that police give out tickets for such petty ****, that is not the type of society I want to live in so I will fight it when I get the chance.

and of course, you can post here the exact statute that this poster would use to demand such a JURY trial.... :rolleyes:
I dont know the statute offhand, but unlike alot of other states that are geared up solely for revenue generation where they dont allow you a jury trial for traffic infractions, Texans still have the right to jury trials even for speeding tickets.
 

miguelg

Junior Member
can you call the clerk, maybe once a week or month, maybe they never find it, and if its a typo then they can't legally get you can they? I mean if they don't have your name spelled correctly you might not be liable, it could be somebody else or nobody. Besides if you can stay clean for is it 7 years you don't have to worry anymore. Just be careful going in there now because if it has gone to warrant, you will have to go to jail or pay the fine then,

no smart a** comments, I know what your going through,
 

Kane

Member
Brent, don't believe me if you don't want, but you've seriously misinterpreted the situation. Your copy of the ticket is not the only proof it ever existed.

It's not proof of anything at all - it's just a notice to appear in court.

Whatever you think, you're better off taking care of the ticket than hoping it falls through the cracks. You don't want to get pulled over next time and go to jail on a warrant.

And I don't understand how you're outraged by deception, when you're pretending you didn't have a ticket that you actually had.
 

acmb05

Senior Member
Why didnt you

Just say the ticket is at home I will have to go get it, then wait til the next day to bring it back. This would have taken care of the 30 day thing. As it was you came back on the 30th day and since the day was not over it was not dismissed. Go to court anyway if this is your first ticket you can still go to driving school.

Just a little hint though. I just went to driving school on Thursday nite. My speeding ticket was for 171.00 When I went to court to see if I could go to the school the judge said yes and said as soon as I finished the school the ticket would be dismissed and no points on my license, however I did have to pay court costs.

Well the court cost was 165.00 and the price for the school here is 50.00 so it cost me 44.00 more to not have points on my license than it would have been to just pay the ticket.
 

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