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Wrong registration info ground for dismissal?

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trylan

Junior Member
I'm from california, bay area. I was on I-80 when this happened.

A CHP pulled me over, stated what happened, that another officer clocked me and passed on my speed to him (88 MPH in a 65 zone), and he pulled me over.

I was driving a friend's car at the time, so my friend who was in the passenger seat pulled out registration and handed it to hte CHP.

I get over and look at my ticket, and everything important is right (he misstated my weight by over 50 lbs, my eye color, but those are unimportant), except he checked the boxes for "same as driver" for registration info, which means he clearly didn't read the registration papers he was handed.

Is this grounds for dismissal, or at least some kind of stepping stone for me to build a case on the officer's credibility when i go to contest this?
 
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JETX

Senior Member
trylan said:
Is this grounds for dismissal, or at least some kind of stepping stone for me to build a case on the officer's credibility when i go to contest this?
No, and no.
 
N

NotACopOrLawyer

Guest
No, and yes.

Get a copy of Fight Your Ticket by David Brown. Every public library has copies of it.

Fight it.

NACOL
 

racer72

Senior Member
Beware, notacoporalawyerbutsomeonewhothinksheknowseverything comes here spouting all this info but will never offer proof to back up his claims. Of the many traffic court cases I have heard, the only fatal error on a citation that may warrant dismissal is if the wrong info prevents you from providing a valid defense to the citation. The wrong weight and registration info does not do this. And the book suggested by NACOLBSWTHKE suggests fighting all traffic tickets, even if you are guilty. At best you may negotiate for a lesser infraction or driving school.
 
N

NotACopOrLawyer

Guest
The reason I recommended the book is that it will give you the best chance of beating the ticket. And I recommend, as it does, that you fight any ticket that you get. You always have a very good chance that the officer will not show up for the trial. If he doesn't show, you win.

I also recommend that you withhold ticket details, such as the date, etc., from this website - the officer who cited you, or a friend of his, could be reading this thread, and it could make him more likely to take the trouble to show up for the trial.

NACOL
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
NotACopOrLawyer said:
I also recommend that you withhold ticket details, such as the date, etc., from this website - the officer who cited you, or a friend of his, could be reading this thread, and it could make him more likely to take the trouble to show up for the trial.
Considering that I am the only active California cop I know that peruses this site (though there is one retired officer who occasionally posts) I think the chance of my knowing the particular cite and gleaning the name of the officer from the generalities posted is less likely than my winning the lottery.

I have been on sites like this off and on for a dozen years and have found only ONE person (on the ACLU web site) who even came close ... he mentioned by name a CHP officer that worked out of an office in my city that I happened to be acquainted with - by name and face only. And that was more than a year after I left southern California.

As for the book, having not read it I can't comment on it from first hand experience. However, I have had two defense lawyers comment on it (quite coincidentally) on another site and while they were not overly critical they did say that it pointedly leaves out certain key points about issues of the basic speed law that can come back to bite the casual reader if he is not careful. I have no way to know if that's true, but having read other such books and self-help sites on the 'net, I'd say it is likely.

But, I'm all for people fighting their cites if they have the time and money to do it.

- Carl
 

JETX

Senior Member
NotACopOrLawyer said:
You always have a very good chance that the officer will not show up for the trial. If he doesn't show, you win.
And of course, that is not true in most cases. More and more jurisdictions have taken steps to close that 'loophole'.... scheduling tickets on assigned court days for the officer, resetting when the officer is not available, etc.

I also recommend that you withhold ticket details, such as the date, etc., from this website - the officer who cited you, or a friend of his, could be reading this thread, and it could make him more likely to take the trouble to show up for the trial.
Wow, you really are paranoid, aren't you. Do you really think that ANY specific violator will be identified from general information provided on this site?? Do you have any idea how many tickets are issued each day, much less the extremely few that ever make it to this site??
Your statement is like saying.... don't ever tell anyone you lived in California.... after all, they might know someone, who knows someone, who knew someone else who lived there also and might know you!! :eek:
 
N

NotACopOrLawyer

Guest
JETX is in Texas. I am in California. I go to traffic court a lot. I have never seen a judge re-set a traffic case so that the officer had a second chance to show up. Either the cop shows up as ordered on the subpena that was sent to him, or the case is dismissed. In the courts I attend, the no-show rate is consistently greater than 50% - sometimes approaching 70%. And all of those courts have been using "assigned days" for many years.

I don't know if the original post-er is still listening, but if he is and wants to see for himself what the odds are that the cop won't show up, he can go down to the courthouse on a trial day and observe at the beginning of the trial session to see how many cases are dismissed because the cop didn't show up. (Court trials are public.) In the courts I attend, I advise people to stay clear of the courtroom door, so that they will not get trampled by the mob of happy ex-defendants practically running out of the courtroom.

NACOL
 

trylan

Junior Member
I don't know if the original post-er is still listening
Oh, he is. I was just reading what you all had to say.

The reason I am fighting this ticket, guilty or not, is that i can't afford to have my insurance go up, since the officer reported me at 23 MPH over the limit, and i can't take traffic school because of that. I will check out that book though, take a look; i appreciate the responses.
 

JETX

Senior Member
NotACopOrLawyer said:
I go to traffic court a lot.
Gee, why is that???? Since you are not a 'cop or lawyer', you must be a pretty piss-poor driver, huh??

I have never seen a judge re-set a traffic case so that the officer had a second chance to show up.
Then I suggest you start showing up at a REAL court, instead of 'Judge Judy'.
In Tennessee: "the police officer didn’t show up, he was having shoulder surgery. The Court date was reset again."
http://weblog.larrydburton.com/index.php/archives/2005/03/03/my-day-in-court/

In Dallas:
"If the police officer fails to appear your case will either get dismissed or reset by the Judge. The Court will give the officer approximately one hour to appear in court. If your case does not go to trial, your case will take approximately one and a half hours and if you try your case, it could possibly take all day. If the police officer appears in Court, you can choose: (1) trial; (2) deferred adjudication probation, if you are eligible; (3) defensive driving school, if you are eligible; or (4) plea of guilty for non-moving violations."
http://www.dallasattorney.org/dallastraffic.htm

In Atlanta:
"The officer is then supposed to appear at the defendant's actual trial date. But the case can be reset again -- and sometimes again -- if the officer still doesn't show."
http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2003-08-07/news_feature.html

In Washington, the officer doesn't even have to appear at all:
"If no witness is requested, the judge will read the officer’s sworn statement and then consider any testimony and/or evidence presented by the defense before deciding the case."
http://www.cob.org/court/cases.htm

And more.....

Either the cop shows up as ordered on the subpena that was sent to him, or the case is dismissed.
Possible in some courts.... but as shown above, clearly NOT all.

In the courts I attend, the no-show rate is consistently greater than 50% - sometimes approaching 70%. And all of those courts have been using "assigned days" for many years.
And lots of departments are getting considering more strict on the officers showing.... or requesting a reset prior to docket date.

And from the Houston Chronicle, 8/1/04:
" Houston traffic court officials are giving the boot to a well-known stratagem for beating a ticket - asking for a trial in hopes that the officer who wrote the citation won't show up and the case will be dismissed. In a move that's already raising hackles among defense lawyers, cases are now being scheduled for a pretrial conference where defendants can accept a plea bargain for a light sentence or request a trial - and come back at a future date."
 

JETX

Senior Member
trylan said:
The reason I am fighting this ticket, guilty or not, is that i can't afford to have my insurance go up, since the officer reported me at 23 MPH over the limit, and i can't take traffic school because of that.
Now, THAT, sounds like really good logic!! And something you should have taken into account BEFORE you decided to exceed the posted speed limit.
Kind of like..... gee, I should get robbery charges dismissed because I really, really wanted that money!!! :D
 

trylan

Junior Member
Now, THAT, sounds like really good logic!! And something you should have taken into account BEFORE you decided to exceed the posted speed limit.
Kind of like..... gee, I should get robbery charges dismissed because I really, really wanted that money!!!

By the way, all the sources you cited were not from CA. In CA that loophole is much alive, and in fact most tickets contested are dismissed.

And i didn't decide to go above the limit, due to a problem with my friend's car the speedometer was not displaying the correct speed. I was travelling with the rest of traffic (which is preferred in CA, i was once pulled over for going exactly the limit in the left lane, the CHP officer told me to speed up). I know thats no excuse, and you're probably going to say "stop trying to rationalize your crimes"...I'm just saying what happened.

If you disagree with my motives, you are in your right to do so; I however disagree with you. I know no judge in the world would be able to keep a straight face if i told him what i said above, so i'm going to see if there are any technicalities i can exploit.

I am a very good driver otherwise, i have no other tickets or accidents on my record. I always attempt to follow the law exactly. It's not like i'm a habitual offender. I got unlucky this one time, and would very much like to be able to get around it.

I have a feeling this is going to be tough though...the officer that pulled me over wasn't the one that clocked me, i'm not sure how that affects my situation.
 
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CdwJava

Senior Member
trylan said:
The reason I am fighting this ticket, guilty or not, is that i can't afford to have my insurance go up, since the officer reported me at 23 MPH over the limit, and i can't take traffic school because of that. I will check out that book though, take a look; i appreciate the responses.
23 MPH over isn't too high - 25 would be. If you are not eligible, it is for some other reason.

- Carl
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
trylan said:
By the way, all the sources you cited were not from CA. In CA that loophole is much alive, and in fact most tickets contested are dismissed.
I presume you meant to say that 'most contested tickets where the officer did not show up' were dismmissed. It wouldn't be true that most contested tickets are dismissed.


- Carl
 

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