Unsure of how to proceed...

[TechChris]

What is the name of your state? California

I was recently driving in the San Francisco area, when I was pulled over on highway 101. The CHP did the whole chp thing, do you know why i pulled you over, etc. He informed me i was travelling 91 m.p.h., which is absurd, as i was driving with the speed of traffic, and going no more than 75 m.p.h. according to my speedometer. Also, the officer for some reason wrote down that i was driving a gold civic, when i was driving a blue saturn. I don't really understand why he would do that, maybe it was nearing his shift and he was tired? At any rate, I do not pretend to be a defense lawyer, and am unsure how to proceed.

Should i: Plead not guilty, represent myself and try to fight it; hire a defense lawyer and try to fight it? Or just pay the fine and attend traffic school? I am very busy, i usually work around 50 hours a week, so I don't really want to take off a day for court, but i do not think i could afford my insurance if it were to increase a lot. I am not sure how much of a case i have; I don't know how i would go about proving that i'm telling the truth.

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state? California

I was recently driving in the San Francisco area, when I was pulled over on highway 101. The CHP did the whole chp thing, do you know why i pulled you over, etc. He informed me i was travelling 91 m.p.h., which is absurd, as i was driving with the speed of traffic, and going no more than 75 m.p.h. Also, the officer for some reason wrote down that i was driving a gold civic, when i was driving a blue saturn. I don't really understand why he would do that, maybe it was nearing his shift and he was tired? At any rate, I do not pretend to be a defense lawyer, and am unsure how to proceed.

Should i: Plead not guilty, represent myself and try to fight it; hire a defense lawyer and try to fight it? Or just pay the fine and attend traffic school? I am very busy, i usually work around 50 hours a week, but i do not think i could afford my insurance if it were to increase a lot. I am not sure how much of a case i have; I'm not sure how i would go about proving that i'm telling the truth.

Also, i left my flame - resistant gear at home, please try to keep that in mind

If the cop wrote the correct tag number and VIN or whatever it is they put on tickets out there, then you have no case.


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

Public defender’s advice

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


Other people may give you other advice; stand by.

 

[TechChris]

If the cop wrote the correct tag number and VIN or whatever it is they put on tickets out there, then you have no case.

Ok, that's understandable.

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.

You mean there are people that don't do that? I hope not...

I understand what you're saying...it just irritates me a whole lot that the officer would lie like that. I just hope the fine isn't too severe.

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.

That seems reasonable enough; I of course would like to plead nothing to anything, but I'm sure thats impossible, heh. Thanks for the reply, and anyone that might have other things to say, I'm open!

 

[CdwJava]

As a point of clarification, a "lie" is an intentional act. Someone can be in error, wrong, or completely off base and still not be a liar. When two people go to court it does not stand to reason that one party is lying and the other is telling the truth - they CAN be relating their interpretation and recollection of the events as honestly as they recall.

In your case, the officer may have hit you with radar/lidar or paced you at 91 MPH. It's possible that his device did not function properly. It's also possible that maybe at some point while passing or driving you spiked your speed to about 90-ish and that was when he paced or hit you with the device (or made a visual estimation) and you were not pulled over for some distance after that point.

One of you may be wrong, but it does not follow that one of you is necessarily lying.

As for the car, I suspect it was one of those complete brain fade issues on the part of the officer (what sense would it make to lie about the case and then completely biff the car description). However, if you really want to make an issue of it, take a picture of your car and then when the CHP officer testifies as to the make and color of your car, clarify this on cross examination. When it comes time to present YOUR case, produce the photo of your car (and a photo of the license plate and the VIN plate) and ask that it be submitted in to evidence. Then, maybe, politely suggest that the officer may have seen another vehicle that fit HIS description on the citation because it surely wasn't yours.

In my opinion, there is a VAST difference between a gold Civic and a blue Saturn! This is too big a discrepency to be overlooked and, to me, would seem to provide reasonable doubt.

- Carl

 

[seniorjudge]

Carl (as always) has made some excellent points.

Let us know how this turns out.

Thanks....

 

[Douglas_Rest]

I too agree with Carl.
Also,from this website: http://www.beatmyspeedingticket.com/speeding_ticket.html :

"There is a mistake on my ticket. Possible. But it must be a fatal flaw and not an immaterial mistake. If the license plate # is wrong but the officer identifies your car – you lose. If your name is spelled wrong – you still lose. If the ticket says a Grey Saab and you have a red pick-up – you win that one. (Save your money and don’t buy the book.)"​