Problem with ticket in Tennessee

Ok, I was driving through Tennessee on my way home (NC) from a trip and I got pulled. The officer told me nothing except that one of my tail lights were out and I was going a little fast then he went back to his car, so I assumed that I was getting a warning. Then he came back with a ticket for speeding so I asked how fast I was going and he said 77 in a 70. He also gave me a warning for the tail light. He said little else except that he asked me how long I'd been on the road and I told him around 9-10 hours, and then he told me to sign the ticket and if I had any questions to call the number on back, so I signed so I could be on my way.

I got home to find that he had also marked on the ticket that we were in seatbelt violation which we both (my wife and I) had our belts on the entire time. Also, he never asked for our current address, so he wrote down the wrong address. He also did not write down how much the fees are for, so I had to call the number on back to find out ($151.50 and $10.00 are the fees). One other thing is that the court date is only 12 days from the date of my citation, which seems like really short notice to me.

I live 2+ hours away from the court, so is there any way I can get this taken care of without having to drive to court and without having to plead guilty to both of these offenses? If I really can't take care of this without going to court, what's the best way to handle it while I'm in court? What should my defense be? Oh, and I really just don't have the money for this ticket right now because I just made some big purchases for my business, so I just kinda feel doubly screwed since I was going with the flow of traffic AND he lied about the seatbelt thing. This was all in Jacksboro, TN (Campbell County), by the way.

Thanks!

The only way you can take care of this from NC is to pay the fines, which means pleading guilty. If you want to argue the seatbelt issue, you're going to have to please not guilty and go to court.

Thanks for the response!

Anybody else have any ideas/input on the situation?

pwb1510 said:

Thanks for the response!

Anybody else have any ideas/input on the situation?

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Same as Ram. It will be a waste of time to argue the seatbelt issue as it is your word against the officer...HOWEVER! Call the number on your ticket, ask to settle it, and see if they can wave the fine for the seatbelt. If not, then just pay the fine. This will already affect your insurance premium, so just pay and get it over with.

If you don't pay your fine, you could face not being able to renew your license, and registration. and added fees.

Thanks for the responses... they are much appreciated. However, I have heard no mention of Prayer For Judgement or any other things that I can claim such as that. I've only listed PFJ because that's the only thing I've heard of and I was hoping to hear some more help in that area. I'm probably going to end up having to drive up there, so I was wondering what I should do? Should I ask to get my speed reduced? Will that help with the insurance situation? Should I contest the seatbelt violation since it is a lie?

Thanks again with your help, everyone.

I don't think Tenn. has a Prayer for Judgement like NC but you can call the clerk of court and ask. Don't expect much since you are out of state and just represent revenue.