"fatal error" questions

rnkellylynn6 · #1 01-18-2006, 02:08 PM

Colorado:

Whoops, speeding ticket today. My understanding from reading previous posts:

Wrong street of offense on ticket is POSSIBLE grounds for dismissal.
Street written on ticket, in my case, is a parallel street about 1/3 to 1/2 mile away. Here are my questions:

Should I speak to the prosecuting attorney in advance of court? Should I accept a plea if one is offered?
Should I request officer's notes?

OR, should I present the officer with this element of surprise IN court with the ticket information after he has given his testimony?

Can I object to an ammendment? How? I'm a nurse. If I gave drug Elm Street instead of drug Lake Street, would that be okay? Lol.

Should I agree that I was pulled over in front of my own house, or simply state that I was not on the street stated on the ticket. Not sure how to deal with the question that might come up.

Thanks for your advice,
Kelly

racer72 · #2 01-18-2006, 02:16 PM

The fact a ticket has an error is generally not enough to have it dismissed. A good traffic court attorney will used the error to discredit the officer and create questions to the validity of the citation. In your case, the attorney will claim that because the officer was confused about the location of the alledged offense, he may have been confused that the offense actually occured. As with most court cases, if there is any reasonable doubt the defendant must be found innocent. Go to court before your scheduled hearing and you will be able to see the good attorneys in action and the methods that are successful in fighting a ticket.

poohmantbb · #3 01-18-2006, 03:58 PM

Not that I like to help people get out of a deserved traffic ticket, and the fact I don't feel like being a samrt-ass today, I will try to help.

Do the two streets, the one you WERE on and the one the citation says you were on, have the same speed limit?? What was your speed?

The street issue doesn't make the ticket go away. Is itpossible he got your speed while you were on that street and just pulled you over on the other one??? Also, does the location of the infraction on the cite say "At or near.." such and such location?

sukharev · #4 01-18-2006, 04:04 PM

I agree, street would not matter, unless you have a way to prove you were on a different street. Your testimony may help, but it's still only a small help. You need to show that officer has no independent recollection, or try some other defense strategy. In absence of any details I cannot recommend anything more specific, but negotiating with DA always gets you a lower fine, and sometimes even a non-moving violation (if you were less than 10 mph over the speed limit).

rnkellylynn6 · #5 01-18-2006, 04:14 PM

Poohman, thank you for offering suggestions.
No, I was never on the street that I was cited to be on. The street error was made because it was one of the main streets that divide up our city running parallel. The street I was on is exactly 1/2 mile away and exactly parallel. No intersecting, and no travel from one onto the other (plus, I came onto the street from the OTHER side of town. In other words, I never even passed by the street I was cited to be on). To answer your next question, the speed limit on the street I was actually on is 35mph, and the speed limit of the street I was cited to be on is 30mph. Ticket says 51 in a 35 zone. Ticket states 600 block of Lake. I was at 600 block of Elm (traveling on Elm, and clocked at the 600 block).
Thank you,
K

rnkellylynn6 · #6 01-18-2006, 04:15 PM

Yes, I can prove I was on a different street. He pulled me over into my driveway! Lol.

Leviticus · #7 01-20-2006, 07:04 PM

Hey, why have you good folks abandoned poor Kelly?
She's still waiting for your answers.

rnkellylynn6 · #8 01-21-2006, 03:51 PM

Leviticus, I did feel abandoned! Thank you for noticing.

Here are some more slightly worthless pieces of information about my case, lol.
Posted limit changes from 35 to 45 across one more major block of same street.

Area of clocking is 0.09 mile from where I entered the street on a tight corner (in other words, you can't peel around that corner and haul up the street). I could not reproduce any faster than 35 mph floored in my '94 minivan at the block of clocking, and I turned that corner as fast as I could). Officer said he clocked at 51. I'd have to see his notes about that.

Still unaware how to proceed, or if I should proceed with attempting to get out of it. One more question in addition to my previous questions: Isn't the DA the lawyer for the prosecution? Why would I want to discuss my case with him? Wouldn't he then help his client (the cop) to shore up his case?

Need more help please!
K