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Incorrect birthday on speeding ticket

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boops

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

Here is the situation. Tonight I received a ticket for going 35 in a 25 zone. Yes I broke the law I will not deny that. But on the ticket he wrote my birthday wrong. Does that allow for dismissal of the ticket? Michigan Legislature section - 257.727c (3) says that above the officers signature on the ticket the officer is agreeing to this:
“I declare under the penalties of perjury that the statements above are true to the best of my information, knowledge, and belief.”

Can I use that to prove that at the time the officer signed it he was taking an oath agreeing that the information he wrote down was valid. But the information he did write down (my birthday) was invalid. Therefore it would be incorrect identification of me the offender (me). I know this is silly and I should just pay the stupid thing, but I would like to give it a try if I have a chance.

More information:
Violation date: 3/14/2010
Incorrect birthday recorded: 8/20/1990
Actual Birthday: 3/20/1990
With this information I would like to ask another question. Since my 21st birthday and renewal of license is before the due date of the payment of ticket would this cause any problem or help my case? Just to add to the whole thing i'm from OHIO and received this ticket in MICHIGAN. Therefore they took my license in lieu of bond, but my license expires in 6 days. What happens with that? Must I get my license back from Michigan in order to get my new license? My home state Ohio will not find out about my ticket because of the Non-Resident Violator Compact. They would renew it when I go home this weekend and not see that I have this ticket on my record.

Information and help on any of the questions I asked would be greatly appreciated. If you need clarification of anything ask as well. Main question I would like to have answered is if you believe this is worth taking to court? And would it get dismissed based on information that I have showed or that you find out?
Thanks
 


I_Got_Banned

Senior Member
Not that big an issue for a number of reason... 1) Your birth date has no effect on whether you committed the alleged violation, 2) the error will not hinder your ability to defend yourself, 3) it could be corrected easily with little or no impact on the case... etc.

Therefore it would be incorrect identification of me the offender (me).
OK, so you appear in court to raise the issue of the error, and you argue that the officer cannot identify you because he wrote the wrong birth date on your citation... All while you're standing there with the citation in hand... How did you get it (and probably signed it) if it wasn't you who received it???

Of course, you're free to try and make whatever argument you think will help you out.

Good luck!
 

boops

Junior Member
Im not trying to argue that it is me. Just that the ticket has a material defect which incorrectly identifies me. I have not signed the ticket and only have to sign it if I admit responsibility. But the fact that the officer signed the ticket agreeing that the above statements are true, when a piece of the information was incorrectly recorded, should void the ticket. Doesn't this challenge the officers ability to function or concentrate? Therefore it could of affected his ability to operate the radar gun and incorrectly determine my speed. It makes the officer not credible anymore to the alleged violation. I know lots of things are going through his mind during the time that he has me pulled over on the side of the road. So it is understandable to get a tiny detail such as this wrong. But it still questions his credibility to overall violation.
 

I_Got_Banned

Senior Member
Im not trying to argue that it is me. Just that the ticket has a material defect which incorrectly identifies me. I have not signed the ticket and only have to sign it if I admit responsibility. But the fact that the officer signed the ticket agreeing that the above statements are true, when a piece of the information was incorrectly recorded, should void the ticket. Doesn't this challenge the officers ability to function or concentrate? Therefore it could of affected his ability to operate the radar gun and incorrectly determine my speed. It makes the officer not credible anymore to the alleged violation. I know lots of things are going through his mind during the time that he has me pulled over on the side of the road. So it is understandable to get a tiny detail such as this wrong. But it still questions his credibility to overall violation.
And I'm not trying to make excuses on the officer's behalf. I am simply saying that typically, such an error is considered harmless and is MORE likely to result in a simple correction on the record and LESS likely to result in a dismissal... And if this is all you've got in your defense as to whether you were speeding or not, then by all means, make your "material defect" argument in court and hope the judge buys into it.
 

boops

Junior Member
That's not all I have. I also asked the officer to allow me to see the radar gun and see my speed. He told me that they do not store the information in the gun and therefore is not able to produce the evidence. And if he was able to show it to me that it would be a risk to my life by stepping out of the car. Meaning I might get run over by a car. I also asked the last time the gun was calibrated and he told me that the radar guns get recalibrate 3 times a year. So I can subpoena the records of the gun he used and see if it was up to date with the schedule.
I'm not trying to desperately get out of this ticket. I am just trying to figure out the situation and dip my foot into the whole law thing. Its interesting. Thanks for responding.
 

I_Got_Banned

Senior Member
I also asked the officer to allow me to see the radar gun and see my speed.
With the exception of Georgia (where the driver can request that the officer run a self test on the SMD used and make a notation of the results on the citation), I am not aware of ANY state that requires the officer to show the driver the Radar reading.

He told me that they do not store the information in the gun and therefore is not able to produce the evidence. And if he was able to show it to me that it would be a risk to my life by stepping out of the car. Meaning I might get run over by a car.
Sounds reasonable and on point!

I also asked the last time the gun was calibrated and he told me that the radar guns get recalibrate 3 times a year. So I can subpoena the records of the gun he used and see if it was up to date with the schedule.
Always a valid argument and certainly worth pursuing.

I'm not trying to desperately get out of this ticket. I am just trying to figure out the situation and dip my foot into the whole law thing. Its interesting. Thanks for responding.
Good luck and you're welcome.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
But the fact that the officer signed the ticket agreeing that the above statements are true, when a piece of the information was incorrectly recorded, should void the ticket.
Read what you wrote about the officer's obligation:

“I declare under the penalties of perjury that the statements above are true to the best of my information, knowledge, and belief.”​
At the time, the officer believed that to be true "to the best of [his] information."

Doesn't this challenge the officers ability to function or concentrate? Therefore it could of affected his ability to operate the radar gun and incorrectly determine my speed. It makes the officer not credible anymore to the alleged violation. I know lots of things are going through his mind during the time that he has me pulled over on the side of the road. So it is understandable to get a tiny detail such as this wrong. But it still questions his credibility to overall violation.
Ya know, you can toss all that falderal out there, but don't expect the judge to buy it. Perhaps if the officer made a slew of small errors an argument might be made that he was having a bad day paying attention to details ... but, an incorrect birthdate?

Hopefully you have something a little more substantive to raise in your defense. The radar issues that IGB responded to would seem to be far more valid than this birthdate thing. I would suggest you look into those as possible arguments.

However, keep in mind that radar training also means he has almost certainly been formally trained in the visual estimation of speed as well. So, even if the radar might be skewed a bit, he might still be able to get you on a visual estimate.
 

boops

Junior Member
Thanks for the response. What about the fact that I am from Ohio and received the ticket in Michigan and that my license expires this Sunday? Does that factor into anything at all?
 

LizzieB

Member
Thanks for the response. What about the fact that I am from Ohio and received the ticket in Michigan and that my license expires this Sunday? Does that factor into anything at all?
I'd just try to renew my license by Friday.

As to the original issue, a "3" versus an "8"? That's not going to hold up.

Do you really want to contest the ticket? If so, request a trial date, show up at court and hope the cop who wrote you the ticket doesn't show up.

Plead not guilty and if he/she doesn't show, the state has no evidence against you. Case dismissed.

You might even find a local (Michigan) lawyer who specializes in traffic violations for a nominal fee. You'll likely still need to show, but the lawyer can walk it through.
 

boops

Junior Member
Thanks everyone for the responses. I think I am just going to pay the ticket, which is a $130 fine. The reason being is that the only hard evidence I could produce would be the calibration records of the radar gun and I dont even know how to go about obtaining those. Even if I do it might prove that the officer was even more correct in getting my speed. Plus I am not sure if there are extra fines accosiated with going to court, if not it may be worth it to show up and hope the officer does not. Thanks again.
 

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