fighting a ticket in court

[Rosie6]

I am in ILLINOIS and was in a fender bender. The person behind me rear ended me, not doing any damage to my vehicle.did damage to theirs.the police wrote over $500.00 to their car..now heres the kicker. we both got a ticket..both for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident(also known as driving too fast for conditions) yes she was driving too fast. the traffic in front of me stopped because of the railroad tracks and I stopeed and she ran into the back of me..telling the police all kinds of lies and such.. I am fighting my ticket basicly because I did not deserve a ticket and to keep my insurance rates from going up..any advice tips comments anything would be greatly appreciated thank you so muchWhat is the name of your state?

 

[Betty]

I am in ILLINOIS and was in a fender bender. The person behind me rear ended me, not doing any damage to my vehicle.did damage to theirs.the police wrote over $500.00 to their car..now heres the kicker. we both got a ticket..both for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident(also known as driving too fast for conditions) yes she was driving too fast. the traffic in front of me stopped because of the railroad tracks and I stopeed and she ran into the back of me..telling the police all kinds of lies and such.. I am fighting my ticket basicly because I did not deserve a ticket and to keep my insurance rates from going up..any advice tips comments anything would be greatly appreciated thank you so muchWhat is the name of your state?

You have two choices - pay the ticket or fight it in court. If you decide to fight it, you have to be arrraigned in court on a certain date. Your rights will be read to you at the time of arraigment & you will be asked to plead guilty or not guilty. Since you are fighting the charge, you would plead not guilty. If you do this without an attorney, it will be your word against the police officer who gave you the ticket, which means you are probably at a disadvantage. If you decide not to fight it & pay the fine, by paying the fine you're pleading guilty. This means the violation goes on your driving record & your ins. premium may go up.

 

[plp]

I used to work for an insurance company and if you were rear ended, then the fault lies with the other person. There are VERY few exceptions to this. Call your insurance company(which you should have already done) and explain the situation. It won't help you in fighting the ticket, but YOUR insurance shouldn't be adversely affected. Who do you insure with? Depending on when this happened, most companies would've already let you know who they considered at fault and if it would cost you any more in premiums.

 

[Betty]

Rosie6, if the police officer did not witness the accident, that could work in your favor. Betty

 

[Two Bit]

This really isn't a your word against the officer's word sort of situation. We have an accident here, and the officer reached his decision based on facts he observed at the scene. I doubt that there will be much disagreement about the facts, although I could see a lot of room for disagreement about the conclusions.

There must have been something more to the story for the officer to cite the person who was rearended for too fast for conditions. Did you run into someone else also?

 

[Rosie6]

I have already plead not guilty and have requested a trial by judge..i plead not guilty by checking a box on the back of the ticket and sending it in.my court date is march6..no I did not hit anyone the person behind me hit me..heres more of the story.2 days after the accident I went and talked to the chief of police,he said I did not deserve the ticket and when the issusing officer was on duty he would speak to him but, i was not to concern myself with this ticket..2 days later the officer that issued the ticket calls me at home says he and the chief need to speak with me i went..the 3 of us sat down the chief said he still felt strongly that i did not deserve this ticket but the officer t hat responded was more or less in charge and the chief had to respect whatever decision the officer made.the chief then said the officer wants to change the ticket to failure to signal when required (this sent a red flag to me change a ticket) he then read the code to me out of a booking book..he then said if it was up to him i would not get a ticket at all, but he was gonna leave it up to the officer..the chief then left the room..the officer said it was my fault I told him at the scene i looked down to plug in my cell phone and when i looked up the traffic in front of me had stopped therefore i stopped and got rear ended..he said i did not signal the person behind me that i was stopping (brake lights were working fine) he then tells me i would suggest you not fight this ticket as they will subpeona the girl that hit me aand the judge will believe her story as it sounds more believable..he says he will call the states attorney and have the ticket changed..well after receiving my court date i called the states attorney..the ticket has NOT been changed and the only ones being called to court are me and the officer..

 

[Betty]

Rosie6, if you go to court to fight the ticket, all you can do is explain the entire situation to the judge -- be sure to explain it all (ie what chief said . . )
Of course, you could hire a lawyer but that would cost money & there is no guarantee the ticket would be "dismissed." It sounds like you have a good case (in my opinion) Betty P.S. It will more or less be your word against the officers.

 

[Ohiogal]

Rosie6, if you go to court to fight the ticket, all you can do is explain the entire situation to the judge -- be sure to explain it all (ie what chief said . . )
Of course, you could hire a lawyer but that would cost money & there is no guarantee the ticket would be "dismissed." It sounds like you have a good case (in my opinion) Betty P.S. It will more or less be your word against the officers.

She most probably will NOT be able to tell the judge what the chief said as that is considered hearsay and inadmissible. She can say what the police officer said however because he will be in court.

 

[Betty]

She most probably will NOT be able to tell the judge what the chief said as that is considered hearsay and inadmissible. She can say what the police officer said however because he will be in court.

You're right - that would be hearsay & most likely be inadmissible in court. It will be her word against officers that judge will decide on. Sometimes if for some reason, the officer does not show up - the ticket will be "dismissed." I hope she doesn't get Judge Judy. All kidding aside - good luck to poster.

 

[sukharev]

She most probably will NOT be able to tell the judge what the chief said as that is considered hearsay and inadmissible. She can say what the police officer said however because he will be in court.

To not make it a hearsay, she has to call the chief to a witness stand or get a deposition from him. This may backfire, as he can just say "I don't recall saying anything like that".

This case sounds really bizzaire, you don't have to signal, the car does it all for you. If the driver behind did not maintain a safe distance, she is at fault. I wish OP good luck in fighting it.

 

[Ohiogal]

To not make it a hearsay, she has to call the chief to a witness stand or get a deposition from him. This may backfire, as he can just say "I don't recall saying anything like that".

This case sounds really bizzaire, you don't have to signal, the car does it all for you. If the driver behind did not maintain a safe distance, she is at fault. I wish OP good luck in fighting it.

Deposition normally won't do it unless the chief is "unavailable" per court rules and meets other requirements. Calling the chief would make it not hearsay however because the other side would have the ability to cross examine.

 

[sukharev]

Somehow I feel like reading lots of "me too" posts today

Bottom line, it's unlikely the chief would even come unless he has to (AKA subpoenaed), and if I were him I would be pissed if that happens. Bad idea, nothing to do with hearsay. Talking to him and asking nicely is an option.

 

[Two Bit]

I guess the idea would be to call the chief of police as an expert witness to counteract what the officer concluded. It's an interesting concept. I'd be interested to see you try it.

The officer does have a point. Stopping suddenly can cause accidents, and if you do it in front of someone, it can cause an accident. Of course the state will have to prove that you stopped suddenly based on the information that the officer collected.

What does the code section that you're cited with say?

 

[Betty]

I don't want to get your hopes up but if you do go to court & "fight" the ticket & would lose -- in some states (for certain violations) you can go to a one or two day traffic school at your expense & you might still have to pay the fine also for administrative court costs but they won't put the ticket on your record.

 

[Rosie6]

re: code section

I have looked and looked on the internet for the statues and codes and cannot find them for illinois..as I was hoping to decipher what it meant..thanks for all the replys and encouragement have considered talking with the chief again,i just dont know