Speeding ticket in NJ

[Mad Hun]

I recently received a ticket in Hunterdon County (Rt. 202) for going 71 in a 55. I intend on contesting the ticket, but would appreciate some advice on the preferred course of action. I am thinking of either 1) pleading with the prosecutor for the NJ "Unsafe Driving" statute, which would give me no points, or 2) requesting various information from the court (discovery) and actually fighting the ticket. My questions regarding the latter are as follows: I was travelling in the right hand lane on the southbound side of the highway (2 lanes). The officer was facing away from me, i.e. his car was situated exactly as mine. It was 11 pm. I asked him how he clocked me, and he said he had "rear-facing" radar. As I recall, there were two other cars near me, one behind me, one in the left lane. I do not believe I was going that speed, and I'm not certain how he was sure it was my car, as the radar was "rear-facing." Was he looking in his rearview mirror? Does anyone know how such radar works?
Finally, do you think it would be better to plead for the "unsafe driving" or fully challenge the ticket in court, going through discovery beforehand? The reason I'm hesitant to go through discovery is that I've heard it raises the ire of the police (this is a small municipality that banks revenue off of its highways). Thank you.

 

[seniorjudge]

I recently received a ticket in Hunterdon County (Rt. 202) for going 71 in a 55. I intend on contesting the ticket, but would appreciate some advice on the preferred course of action. I am thinking of either 1) pleading with the prosecutor for the NJ "Unsafe Driving" statute, which would give me no points, or 2) requesting various information from the court (discovery) and actually fighting the ticket. My questions regarding the latter are as follows: I was travelling in the right hand lane on the southbound side of the highway (2 lanes). The officer was facing away from me, i.e. his car was situated exactly as mine. I asked him how he clocked me, and he said he had "rear-facing" radar. As I recall, there were two other cars near me, one behind me, one in the left lane. I do not believe I was going that speed, and I'm not certain how he was sure it was my car, as the radar was "rear-facing." Was he looking in his rearview mirror? Does anyone know how such radar works?
Finally, do you think it would be better to plead for the "unsafe driving" or fully challenge the ticket in court, going through discovery beforehand? The reason I'm hesitant to go through discovery is that I've heard it raises the ire of the police (this is a small municipality that banks revenue off of its highways).What is the name of your state?

Nothing in your post comes even close to being a defense for speeding. The only defense for speeding is that you were not speeding.

Try plea bargaining.



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. (Smokers...pot or tobacco...literally stink. Remember that before you head for court.)

Bathe and wash your hair.

Do not bring small children or your friends.

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 that the ticket not go on your record, if applicable. Ask also about getting a hardship driving permit, if applicable. Ask about drug court, if applicable.

From marbol:

“Judge...

You forgot the one thing that I've seen that seems to frizz up most judges these days:

If you have a cell phone, make DAMN SURE that it doesn't make ANY noise in the courtroom. This means when you are talking to the judge AND when you are simply sitting in the court room.

If you have a ‘vibrate’ position on your cell phone, MAKE sure the judge DOESN'T EVEN HEAR IT VIBRATE!

Turn it off or put it in silent mode where it flashes a LED if it rings. AND DON'T even DREAM about answering it if it rings.”

(Better yet, don’t carry your cell phone into the courtroom.)”


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/wife/ex-wife/niece/grandma/grand-daughter is pregnant/sick/dying/dead/crippled/crazy 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. (This conflicts with number 5 below, but that hasn’t stopped some defendants from using both.)

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.” Or, another variation: “I was forced into it by a bad guy!”)

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

Public defender’s advice

http://newyork.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/70300494.html


Other people may give you other advice; stand by.

 

[Mad Hun]

Response to Senior Judge

Senior Judge,

Your advice is much appreciated, however I must disagree that I have no defense. I recognize that the only defense is that I was not speeding, but that is exactly the point behing me asserting that I think he got the wrong car. I was in the right hand lane, there was a car to me left, he used "rear-facing" radar. Thus, my argument would be, he clocked the other car, and mistook it for me, as he's clocking through his mirror (if that's the case).

 

[racer72]

Senior Judge,

Your advice is much appreciated, however I must disagree that I have no defense. I recognize that the only defense is that I was not speeding, but that is exactly the point behing me asserting that I think he got the wrong car. I was in the right hand lane, there was a car to me left, he used "rear-facing" radar. Thus, my argument would be, he clocked the other car, and mistook it for me, as he's clocking through his mirror (if that's the case).

Just how do you plan to prove this to the judge?

 

[sukharev]

Doing discovery is a safe way to go, you negotiate plea agreement with DA, not police. My suggestion is to file discovery request, particularly finding out if the radar was calibrated properly. It's critical to know if it was radar, not laser (or AKA lidar), which you may already have on the ticket. Find this out, and let me know if you need help with discovery request.

 

[Mad Hun]

Discovery

Thank you Sukharev.

I actually called the police the day after receiving my ticket and asked what type of speed detection equipment they used. The officer (not the officer who pulled me over) said they used K-55 Radar (which I know NJ caselaw supports) . . . he then proceeded to berate me and tell me that that I should call the clerk and ask for a 2 point deal, as there was no way I would be doing better than that. He also told me that "all of Rt. 202 is a construction zone" and that I should have gotten a double point ticket, thus I was "lucky" for the original officer not marking my ticket as such and should pay up. This is not the case, as there is no signage marking it as a construction zone, and I've checked with the Dept of Transportation and a very small portion of 202 is a construction zone, but not where I was ticketed (miles away).

I believe I will file a discovery request asking for their evidence of radar calibration. Do you know if there are any templates available somewhere online?

Many thanks.

 

[sukharev]

Tipmra website has a good template (you can find it for free). As for the officer's statements, he likely has no clue what he is talking about. You NEVER call the clerk and ask for a deal. This is DA's job, and there are strict guidelines on how this proceeds. Also, you are less than 20 mph over, which can be dismissed just for the officer not showing up, and DA would likely offer you a deal of 2 points, but may also agree to a non-moving violation of some sort, as long as you pay up $$$.

Sounds like you are on the right track as far as radar case law, so I will just post some pointers here to guide you further. In case DA has no deal to offer, you can go and fight the case with confidence. Of course, you may still wind up with a rough judge, or just at the end of the month for them to meet the budget, but good luck anyhow.

1) Make sure you do discovery ASAP, and ask the court for continuance if needed to allow ~40 days for records to arrive. Also send copy of discovery request to the court. Finally, add parallel FOIA request to PD for the same records. When records arrive, check the following:
2) do radar forks calibration and serial number match the ones used to test the radar?
3) was proper radar test done before and after shift?
4) did officer have proper training (find out requirements)?
5) was the place formally checked for interference?
6) does the ticket say that traffic was heavy/medium?
7) was there a chance for sweep, ghost reading or other well-known radar errors (find them on the web)?
8) during trial, determine if the officer does have independent recollection of events (especially if the ticket has an error on it). This one requires a bit of research on how to do and how to object/motion for dismissal/stiking the evidence.
9) Is the speed limit properly posted and legal (AKA speed or engineering survey defense)?

Also, make 2 copies of relevant caselaw (free parts of tipmra website have references, so you can find them on the web), and give them to judge and DA at the beginning of the trial. You will likely need to cite caselaw once you use above defenses.

And, the last but not least, make sure you make a copy of front and back of the ticket before sending it in, and also use certified mail to make sure it does not get lost.

 

[seniorjudge]

Tipmra website has a good template (you can find it for free). As for the officer's statements, he likely has no clue what he is talking about. You NEVER call the clerk and ask for a deal. This is DA's job, and there are strict guidelines on how this proceeds. Also, you are less than 20 mph over, which can be dismissed just for the officer not showing up, and DA would likely offer you a deal of 2 points, but may also agree to a non-moving violation of some sort, as long as you pay up $$$.

Sounds like you are on the right track as far as radar case law, so I will just post some pointers here to guide you further. In case DA has no deal to offer, you can go and fight the case with confidence. Of course, you may still wind up with a rough judge, or just at the end of the month for them to meet the budget, but good luck anyhow.

1) Make sure you do discovery ASAP, and ask the court for continuance if needed to allow ~40 days for records to arrive. Also send copy of discovery request to the court. Finally, add parallel FOIA request to PD for the same records. When records arrive, check the following:
2) do radar forks calibration and serial number match the ones used to test the radar?
3) was proper radar test done before and after shift?
4) did officer have proper training (find out requirements)?
5) was the place formally checked for interference?
6) does the ticket say that traffic was heavy/medium?
7) was there a chance for sweep, ghost reading or other well-known radar errors (find them on the web)?
8) during trial, determine if the officer does have independent recollection of events (especially if the ticket has an error on it). This one requires a bit of research on how to do and how to object/motion for dismissal/stiking the evidence.
9) Is the speed limit properly posted and legal (AKA speed or engineering survey defense)?

Also, make 2 copies of relevant caselaw (free parts of tipmra website have references, so you can find them on the web), and give them to judge and DA at the beginning of the trial. You will likely need to cite caselaw once you use above defenses.

And, the last but not least, make sure you make a copy of front and back of the ticket before sending it in, and also use certified mail to make sure it does not get lost.

The Burdon is upon the party bringing forth the evidence to lay the foundation. In a speeding ticket trial that Burdon is upon the prosecution.

Yeah, boy, that tipmra website sure knows that there law stuff!

 

[Mad Hun]

The Burdon is upon the party bringing forth the evidence to lay the foundation. In a speeding ticket trial that Burdon is upon the prosecution.

Yeah, boy, that tipmra website sure knows that there law stuff!

Do you mean the "burden?" I guess they do know their law stuff.

 

[seniorjudge]

Do you mean the "burden?" I guess they do know their law stuff.

Yep, that was a direct quote from their website.

Have fun reading it!

 

[sukharev]

The Burdon is upon the party bringing forth the evidence to lay the foundation. In a speeding ticket trial that Burdon is upon the prosecution.

Yeah, boy, that tipmra website sure knows that there law stuff!

Say, what?

Would you care to explain what you found wrong with that statement (spelling errors and court irregularities aside)?

 

[Mad Hun]

Sukharev, thank you for your advice.

 

[Zigner]

I guess your biggest problem is that, even if he clocked the car next to you or in the other lane or whatever, if you were traveling the same speed as that car, you're out of luck.

As you will probably not get out of this one (except perhaps if the officer doesn't show up) I would take this as a lesson to SLOW DOWN

 

[Mad Hun]

I guess your biggest problem is that, even if he clocked the car next to you or in the other lane or whatever, if you were traveling the same speed as that car, you're out of luck.

As you will probably not get out of this one (except perhaps if the officer doesn't show up) I would take this as a lesson to SLOW DOWN

First of all, I never said I was going the same speed as the other car.

Second, I'll pass on your lesson to SLOW DOWN. Do you enjoy standing on your little soap box on the internet? Instead of mindlessly preaching for me to slow down, why don't you encourage people to be better drivers?

I am not an irresponsible driver, and I do not drive at irresponsible speeds. Do I always travel the speed limit? Absolutely not. Our speed limits, at least on highways, are often set artificially low. I suspect these are for various reasons, among them being the need for local / state governments to generate revenue as well as the fact that American drivers are generally ill trained. Besides speed limits, I obey EVERY traffic law. I always signal, am astute about checking my mirrors, stay to the right when going slower, etc. I believe in safe driving, and have driven extensively in Europe and at high speeds on the Autobahn in Germany. That is because conditions permitting, high speed is not dangerous. Modern cars (on the whole) are quite capable of traveling 70 mph on a two lane highway. And a car travelling at that speed by an alert, able driver is much safer than a car driven at 55 mph by a driver who is simultaneously fiddling with the radio and talking on a cell phone. Guess I got on my soap box here too, but I came here for advice on challenging my ticket, which some people so generously provided, not the preachings of people that fail to think rationally.

 

[seniorjudge]

First of all, I never said I was going the same speed as the other car.

Second, I'll pass on your lesson to SLOW DOWN. Do you enjoy standing on your little soap box on the internet? Instead of mindlessly preaching for me to slow down, why don't you encourage people to be better drivers?

I am not an irresponsible driver, and I do not drive at irresponsible speeds. Do I always travel the speed limit? Absolutely not. Our speed limits, at least on highways, are often set artificially low. I suspect these are for various reasons, among them being the need for local / state governments to generate revenue as well as the fact that American drivers are generally ill trained. Besides speed limits, I obey EVERY traffic law. I always signal, am astute about checking my mirrors, stay to the right when going slower, etc. I believe in safe driving, and have driven extensively in Europe and at high speeds on the Autobahn in Germany. That is because conditions permitting, high speed is not dangerous. Modern cars (on the whole) are quite capable of traveling 70 mph on a two lane highway. And a car travelling at that speed by an alert, able driver is much safer than a car driven at 55 mph by a driver who is simultaneously fiddling with the radio and talking on a cell phone. Guess I got on my soap box here too, but I came here for advice on challenging my ticket, which some people so generously provided, not the preachings of people that fail to think rationally.

Okay.

But tell us what your defense is.

And then PLEASE tell us how you plan on presenting your case to the judge.



(I have been involved with a few thousand more speeding cases than you have; I have never seen one won, especially using tactics like those displayed on that goofy website.)