Fighting A Speeding Ticket In New Jersey

[john__123]

Situation:
My wife got a speeding ticket (86 mph on a 55 mph road - 5 points in the Clark Municipal Court). Officer who gave her the ticket had given her a court date in Nov. We called the court and contested (not guilty) the ticket and were told that we will get the new court date in mail. After couple of weeks I called the court to find out the court date as we never received anything mail and I was told by the court clerk that we didn't appear on the court date. I explained the situation and she said that we will get the new court date in the mail.

My wife is on a temporary work assignment in NJ. She has a fairly new (7 months old) washington license without any points .

Questions:

1) Can my wife go to court without a lawyer on the court date and if she doesn't like the deal prosecutor is giving her, can she ask the prosecutor for a new court date so that she can hire an attorney?
2) Will the above rescheduling affect us at all?
3) Reading what other people did while fighting their tickets, I learned that in NJ court sometimes can reduce the charges significantly if the defendant is willing to pay a surcharge of $250. Will this be applicable in our case too?
4) I have talked to several lawyers, and most of them are confident that they can get this ticket reduced to a 2 point ticket (if not zero pts), but their fees are in excess of $400 and they say that court fees and fines will be in access of $400 too. I am hoping that we can get this ticket reduced to a 2 pt ticket if we pay the $250 surcharge in the court by ourselves. Any advise on this?

Thanks in advance for your help!!

[Hey There]

12-24-07

john_123

If you go to Google and type--Out of State Traffic Tickets -- in the Search Window the first page that comes up with websites will answer many of your questions regarding your wife's ticket.
Answer to #3 & #4 ********************
According to a book published by NOLO (2005 edition) New Jersey, the state where your wife was cited, and Washington, the state your wife has a driver's licence with, have an agreement called the Driver's Licence Compact. (The state where the driver is ruled guilty of a traffic violation reports this to the state where the driver has a valid driver's licence. The state that this traffic violation conviction is reported to (Washington in this case) will assign the points against the licence according to their schedule. It is impossible to assign points to a driver's licence that the driver doesn't have.(In this case N.J.)
Information on the laws that govern Washington's drivers and vehicles is available in the state's driver handbook, which you can download free.
According to DMV.org website
Washington state doesn't have a point system. It penalizes repeat offenders by a 30-day license suspension for :
Four moving violations in one year.
Five moving violations in two years.
In answer to #1.
On the website Speeding Tickets FAQ (Google Search) it is advised to ask for a continuance at least two weeks before the court date.
Extra information this website provides is how to request discovery (obtaining a copy of the officer's notes and other evidence he plans to use at court) or if that isn't available a request for public records pertaining to your case. Several other websites provide information on Discovery that can be reached by typing in --Discovery for traffic tickets --on Google.
******************
In short you may access information on how to prepare a proper defence by typing in Key Words in the Search Window such as--
Speeding Ticket--Fighting or Plea Bargaining--which not only explains Discovery but gives information on how methods used by the citing officer to determine speed can be faulty and the rights of a driver cited for a traffic violation.
New Jersey uses Pacing, aircraft, VASCAR, radar.
Perhaps the officer marked the method he used to determine the mph your wife was travelling?
It is important to verify what the new court date is.
A local librarian may also be able to direct you to information pertaining to this traffic ticket.

Best Regards,
Hey There