Need advice-speeding ticket+2 summonses

[StatenIsland]

What is the name of your state?New York

I live in NYC and I am 18. I was recently accused of racing my friend. I and my friend were both given -speed imprudent-. We also both received two summonses-reckless driving- and -disorderly conduct-.
-How can the cop back up speeding imprudent. He used no radar and even if he did he would have seen that my friend and i were at the speed limit. Only an idiot would speed where we are pulled over due to the amount of cops which patrol this area and the occasional deaths that occur there. The conditions were also perfect, no fog, rain, pavement was dry and the road was empty.
-I think this was a case in which cops saw two young adults driving together at night and automatically assumed we were reacing. That is what i believe the two summonses were for.
-In court I plan to plead not guilty due to several reasons.I have never had a moving violation in over a year andf a half and so far i have already put 15,000 miles on my car driving in high density traffic and speed areas. I am curently a political science major and I have a 3.92 average. Why would i jeopardize a clean record and why would i go from no violations to 3.
-Alos, on all three tickets the cop wrote my birthday as being in 1988. There is no way to confuse this cops 6 for a 8 and vice versa. He had a half hour to write the three tickets and overlook them. With my birth occuring in 1988, that would mean that i am 16 and thus not legally ok to drive and so the cop screwed up royally. I figure that would have no chance of standing in criminal court for the summonses but for speed imprudent it might. And I beleive without that ticket, the other two loose ground and basis.
-Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state?New York

I live in NYC and I am 18. I was recently accused of racing my friend. I and my friend were both given -speed imprudent-. We also both received two summonses-reckless driving- and -disorderly conduct-.
-How can the cop back up speeding imprudent. He used no radar and even if he did he would have seen that my friend and i were at the speed limit. Only an idiot would speed where we are pulled over due to the amount of cops which patrol this area and the occasional deaths that occur there. The conditions were also perfect, no fog, rain, pavement was dry and the road was empty.
-I think this was a case in which cops saw two young adults driving together at night and automatically assumed we were reacing. That is what i believe the two summonses were for.
-In court I plan to plead not guilty due to several reasons.I have never had a moving violation in over a year andf a half and so far i have already put 15,000 miles on my car driving in high density traffic and speed areas. I am curently a political science major and I have a 3.92 average. Why would i jeopardize a clean record and why would i go from no violations to 3.
-Alos, on all three tickets the cop wrote my birthday as being in 1988. There is no way to confuse this cops 6 for a 8 and vice versa. He had a half hour to write the three tickets and overlook them. With my birth occuring in 1988, that would mean that i am 16 and thus not legally ok to drive and so the cop screwed up royally. I figure that would have no chance of standing in criminal court for the summonses but for speed imprudent it might. And I beleive without that ticket, the other two loose ground and basis.
-Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Standard answer

Here are some hints on appearing in court:

Dress professionally in clean clothes.

Do not wear message shirts.

Don't chew gum, smoke, or eat.

Bathe and wash your hair.

Go to court beforehand some day before you actually have to go to watch how things go.

Speak politely and deferentially. If you argue or dispute something, do it professionally and without emotion.

Ask the court clerk who you talk to about a diversion (meaning you want to plead to a different, lesser charge), if applicable in your situation. Ask about traffic school and the ticket not go on your record, if applicable.


Here are five stories that criminal court judges hear the most (and I suggest you do not use them or variations of them):

1. I’ve been saved! (This is not religion specific; folks from all kinds of religious backgrounds use this one.)

2. My girlfriend/mother/sister/daughter is pregnant/sick/dying/dead/crippled and needs my help.

3. I’ve got a job in [name a state five hundred miles away].

4. This is the first time I ever did this.

5. You’ve got the wrong guy. (A variation of this one is the phantom defendant story: “It wasn’t me driving, it was a hitchhiker I picked up. He wrecked the car, drug me behind the wheel then took off.”)

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?p=854687#post854687

Other people may give you other advice; stand by.

 

[lwpat]

You both need to retain an attorney. The charges are serious and you do not need to go to court alone.

 

[qcxlvr1]

I'm really not sure why the guy found the need to write you a discon for alleged racing or reckless driving.

If you get a good attorney that does criminal and VTL stuff, you can probably get all of this to go away. But you'll pay at least $1500 to the attorney I think.

I don't think the court will hear from you without a lawyer.

 

[Curt581]

I live in NYC and I am 18. I was recently accused of racing my friend. I and my friend were both given -speed imprudent-. We also both received two summonses-reckless driving- and -disorderly conduct-.

I'm betting the DC was for acting like a knob when the cop stopped you.

-How can the cop back up speeding imprudent. He used no radar and even if he did he would have seen that my friend and i were at the speed limit.

Simple. He testifies that he saw you driving at a high rate of speed which, based on his training and experience, far exceeded what was reasonable and prudent for the area. You got speeding imprudent because he wasn't able to clock you with a radar or other means.

Only an idiot would speed where we are pulled over due to the amount of cops which patrol this area and the occasional deaths that occur there.

Hardly a reasonable defense. The court would having no way of knowing whether or not you're an idiot. And I suspect you have no way to prove you're not. Either way, the facts as you've posted them lend credence to the assumption that you are.

The conditions were also perfect, no fog, rain, pavement was dry and the road was empty.

Meaning what? That it was okay to speed, since conditions were so favorable?

I think this was a case in which cops saw two young adults driving together at night and automatically assumed we were reacing. That is what i believe the two summonses were for.

Feel free to think whatever you'd like. If you were minorities, you'd be convinced it was racial profiling.

In court I plan to plead not guilty due to several reasons. I have never had a moving violation in over a year andf a half and so far i have already put 15,000 miles on my car driving in high density traffic and speed areas. I am curently a political science major and I have a 3.92 average. Why would i jeopardize a clean record and why would i go from no violations to 3.

None of which is relevant. The court won't allow speculation as to "lack of motive". Every judge knows there are lots of people out there who do really stupid stuff for no reason at all.

Alos, on all three tickets the cop wrote my birthday as being in 1988. There is no way to confuse this cops 6 for a 8 and vice versa. He had a half hour to write the three tickets and overlook them. With my birth occuring in 1988, that would mean that i am 16 and thus not legally ok to drive and so the cop screwed up royally.

Yeah, that's what you should do! Say the ticket is invalid because of a minor handwriting screw-up, and should therefore be dismissed.

When you go to court, make sure you bring enough bail money.

I figure that would have no chance of standing in criminal court for the summonses but for speed imprudent it might. And I beleive without that ticket, the other two loose ground and basis.

Since you know legal procedure inside and out... What are you asking US for?

 

[You Are Guilty]

Hire a lawyer. On top of everything mentioned in the previous replies, you may also be facing the seizure of your car. Don't even think of trying to do it on your own.