Unfair Tickets what do I do?

Hey, I believe I recieved some unfair tickets in DuPage county in the state of Illinois. Well here's what happened. It was dark out side around 9:45 on saturday september 29th I was making a left hand turn onto a busy road without a stop light. I misjudged the lane of a car traveling down the road, so i accidently turned right infront of him, to avoid an accident I accelerated to 60mph, as I was letting my car decelerate (i didnt apply the brakes) is when I saw the red and blue lights. I recieved two tickets one for speeding 60 in a 45, and another for failure to signal when changing lanes. The police officer did not get me on radar he "paced" me. The police officer also made me get out of the car and kind of threatened me with like "I have a dog in the back of my car you have to be completely honest" well I know he didnt have a dog, because it was a normal squad car. when He came to my window to get my tickets I pleaded with him politely cuz of my driving record, because this makes 3 in a year (my last one was bogus but thats another story) and he was Like "I dont like seeing 18 year olds loose their licenses" he also said he didnt run my license so he has no idea what my prior driving record is, which is also a lie, because thats the first thing they do to see if there is any other warrents out. I have to attended court, any suggestions? if i plead not guilty, how can he contest my failure to signal or my speeding since there was no physical proof, also the last time I was in traffic court the officer who issued the ticket did not show up, would they call him in? any advice would be great

[racer72]

You present no supporting evidence as to why your citations should be challenged, much less dismissed. You admit to speeding and the officer did not like the way you changed lanes. Pacing is the most common method of determining the speed of other vehicles. You may wish to talk to a local attorney that may be able to find a loophole.

Think I found a loophole, first of all I'm not trying to get away with speeding, I feel what I did was the right thing to do, avoid an accident, and I wouldnt be so upset if I recieved only 1 ticket...but two. Ok so the police officer paced me. how far is an accurate pacing distance? 1/4 mile? 600 feet? 200 feet?

~Chris

In my experience RADAR is the most common method, at least that's what was used just about every time I ever got a ticket. The cop was pacing you as you were slowing down? Where was he in all of this? Did he see you try to avoid and accident? By the way, I suspect his statement about "hating to see 18 year olds lose their license" was probably a lie as well. Since when is a dog a lie detector? Why'd he have you get out of the car? In any case, I'd talk to a lawyer. There's probably a standard plea down deal you can cut unless you hacked the cop off for some reason. Don't just pay the ticket without checking other options. Also, if you go to court and he doesn't show up, I'm pretty sure you win automatically because you have the right to face your accuser. They're not going to wait around until he shows up. Understand we're talking the trial here. He doesn't have to be there when you enter a plea.

[racer72]

Think I found a loophole, first of all I'm not trying to get away with speeding, I feel what I did was the right thing to do, avoid an accident,
It was your fault the episode happened, not the other driver. You sped up because your inattention. When you realized your error, you committed more to avoid an accident. If you expect a judge to accept that as an excuse, he will give you a $3 bill too.
As far as pacing, an officer freind of mine says it is possible to obtain a fairly accurate reading in about 50 yards, at 60 mph, that is less than 3 seconds. And he says he writes more speeding tickets using pacing than radar. As been suggested twice, you need an attorney experienced in traffic law. Good luck.

How does he define "fairly accurate"? Is this 50 yard estimate admissible in court? How close to the motorist does he have to be?