Appearing in Court Tommorrow, advice needed ASAP

[Twenty5HourDays]

JUNE 19, 2006

Hello, i am from illinois and i have recently received a speeding ticket.
The ticket was for going 35mph in a 25mph zone.
first off, i have lived in this neighborhood for 10+ years and that road was always at a speed limit of 30mph.
second, i was going 30-32mph according to my speedometer.
the sign that originally said "30mph" was gone. there was no other speed limit sign there at the time the ticket was issued.
i took a quick picture of the entrance of the street for evidence to show that there is no speed limit posted.
today, 1 day before my court date, i went to go take even more pictures of the road (from where i got on to where the cop saw me) and there was a newly planted 25mph speed limit sign.
the picture i had taken earlier was about 3 feet to the left of where the sign is now.
so the picture does not show where the speed limit sign would have been.
now i feel like i do not have a leg to stand on.
i called the public works and tried to get information on when that speed limit sign was posted but i was refused access to that information.

now i am faced with a difficult decision.
should i plead guilty or not guilty?
if i plead guilty now, it is more likely that i will receive court supervision.
i will only have to pay 1 court fee.
if i plead not guilty, i will have to pay for each time i appear in court (probably 2 times) and i will probably be found guilty later on due to the fact that my evidence is not very good and there is a sign there.
although i am innocent until proven guilty, i fear that they wont have a hard time "proving" me guilty.

should i plead truthfully and say not guilty or should i bend over and plead guilty?
i really need advice on this because i cant come to a decision and no one in the phone book will give me free legal advice.

thank you all very much for your time, please reply ASAP.

[magic55]

So a bored cop, it sucks. Even if the speed limit was 30mph you were still speeding. Dont bring any pictures it wont help you. It may be a town law that all residential streets are 25mph.

Ask for reduction or traffic school, and pay the fine. Move on with your life.

[Twenty5HourDays]

well, thanks for the advice even if it wasnt the most upbeat.
also, thanks for the quick reply, im getting pretty nervous about the whole ordeal.
but another thing i forgot to mention.
what if i have witnesses to the speed limit being 30mph? will that strengthen my case greatly or only slightly?
sorry im new to this court stuff.
but thank you.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by Twenty5HourDays

well, thanks for the advice even if it wasnt the most upbeat.
also, thanks for the quick reply, im getting pretty nervous about the whole ordeal.
but another thing i forgot to mention.
what if i have witnesses to the speed limit being 30mph? will that strengthen my case greatly or only slightly?
sorry im new to this court stuff.
but thank you.

Also, speedometers don't read "30-32". Why do you think you'll have court supervision?

[magic55]

Your speedometer is not always accurate. Exspecially when you change tires on your car. It can be off by a couple miles. Dont bring a witness it wont help you at all. Just ask the prosecuter/judge for traffic school.

[loulblades]

A similar thing happened to a friend here in PA where the speed limit was changed but signs were not up yet. There was actullay a date on the back of the new signs that indicated they were either put up or made after he received his ticket. He submitted pictures showing the date and was able to get the charge dismissed.

Of course if the street is defined as residential and 25 is the speed limit on residential streets in IL (or in your town), then you are in a bad way.

[sukharev]

You should definitely fight it. Too bad you don't have much time. If you read this before the court, request continuance to discover relevant information (such as new speed regulation). Or, perhaps DA would just offer you a deal with no points, take it. Good luck.