Traffic Court

[LogGrad98]

30, there. I assume up the hill. Was it before or after the widening to two lanes? Terrace is Weber County Sheriffs, now. Still 30, but I've seen people go 45 down it (hell, my friend does 45 down it). I'll get up to 40 going up the hill and level out my speed when the hill levels out, especially since you should always expect a cop in that dance studio parking lot.

He was coming up the hill and had just passed the light by terrace depot, in a row of like 5 other cars in front of him and behind him. If he was going 50 so was everyone else, and he picked the young kid in the middle of the pack to pull over. ********. The cop was sitting in the little auto shop parking lot across from TD hidden behind the auto shop in the dark (it was like 9:00 pm in the winter). Pulled him over right in front of the fire station.

 

[Hotdog]

Fighting the ticket depends on whether or not the cop gave you a reduced charge or not.

If the cop DID knock the ticket down ftom something like 15 to 5 then you might as well not go because like everyone else has said, you won't win. I think there is even a chance they charge you with the full amount over. I've been told by the prosecuting attorney they can do that. Not sure if it is true though.

If you weren't given a reduced ticket by the cop at the time then it is a must you go because it is most likely the prosecuting attorney will make a deal with you just so they dont have to go to court with you and waste everyone's time. They want to avoid that. Be prepared to make the trip a couple times though. The first time you might just be going to plead not guilty and that's it. They want to squeeze you a little, but you gots to call their bluff. You will get a discount if you hang in there long enough. They really want to avoid court.

I have taken the process all the way through court, but with no luck. I should have just taken the deal. You will lose everytime. The cop will show up and the judge will side with the cop unless you are great at selling a great b.s. story, or arguing. Franklin would probably be good at it. Do it if you want to have a little fun too. Its kind of fun playing lawyer and asking the cop questions on the stand. And it feels good to waste their time and money since they are wasting yours. The cost for the court session will be way more than your stupid little fine. So that feels good knowing that they wasted their time and money with you.

 

[bigb]

The first time you will go to enter your plea. If you plead not guilty you'll have to set up your next time in when the city attorney will try to work a deal with you. They usually offer a plea in abeyance. That means you pay a fine and a little extra "abeyance" charge. But if you go the time frame outlined without another moving violations the ticket disappears from your record.
I was told by a cop buddy of mine that if you choose to fight it and go to court, the cop basically gets subpoenaed and has to show up to court. Just like everyone else has said, the judge will side with the cop 110% of the time.

 

[Chad Feldheimer]

Everytime I have tried to fight a ticket it hasn't done much. Expect to have to pay the ticket. I've plead not guilty and stood in front of the judge and had him say you sorry you have to pay anyway. I told the judge I didn't speed. Judge said well you don't have any evidence that didn't speed. So guilty until proven innocent. I've had fines reduced but the tickets stick which sucks because they stay on your driving record.

 

[LogGrad98]

I haven't had a ticket in over a decade. Even before I sold my vette. I got pulled over a few times but avoided the ticket because I have a nice rack.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using JazzFanz mobile app

 

[Julie Greengiant]

The first time you will go to enter your plea. If you plead not guilty you'll have to set up your next time in when the city attorney will try to work a deal with you. They usually offer a plea in abeyance. That means you pay a fine and a little extra "abeyance" charge. But if you go the time frame outlined without another moving violations the ticket disappears from your record.
I was told by a cop buddy of mine that if you choose to fight it and go to court, the cop basically gets subpoenaed and has to show up to court. Just like everyone else has said, the judge will side with the cop 110% of the time.

Thanks, this is really helpful. I was wondering if I had to meet with the city attorney beforehand or if I just go in and talk to the judge.

My citation was the result of an accident in which there were no witnesses and the officers did no investigation and didn't take my statement. If I was a conspiracy theorist I might say this was because of the research I did after the fact and found that the kid who hit me is the son of a high level police official in Ogden. Fortunately, I just believe it was negligent police work.

 

[TroutBum]

The #1 way to get out of a ticket is: Don't speed. The next best thing: when the cop asks you how fast you were going, say exactly what the speed limit is. The instant you claim that you were only going 5 over, like everyone else, you're toast. My last two times getting pulled over ended up with the cop saying that he clocked me at 10 - 15 mph over, but I said I was going the limit. I didn't get a ticket either time -- and one was in Idaho.

I've fought 10 or so tickets over the years and I've lost every one of them. The only time I came close was the three people in front of me all had their cases dismissed because the cop didn't show up, and lo, my cop didn't either. When I stood up to take my dismissal, the judge said, "I'm not about to dismiss 4 in a row"... And then had me reschedule another time to come back man, I was bent.

 

[franklin]

Everytime I have tried to fight a ticket it hasn't done much. Expect to have to pay the ticket. I've plead not guilty and stood in front of the judge and had him say you sorry you have to pay anyway. I told the judge I didn't speed. Judge said well you don't have any evidence that didn't speed. So guilty until proven innocent. I've had fines reduced but the tickets stick which sucks because they stay on your driving record.

Judges is like moderators. They can't get in the habit reversing infractions.

 

[Duck Rodgers]

I just hope Utah keeps free from camera ticketing. I'm surprised nobody is telling horror stories of red light/speeding tickets from other states in this thread yet :

 

[franklin]

The #1 way to get out of a ticket is: Don't speed. The next best thing: when the cop asks you how fast you were going, say exactly what the speed limit is. The instant you claim that you were only going 5 over, like everyone else, you're toast. My last two times getting pulled over ended up with the cop saying that he clocked me at 10 - 15 mph over, but I said I was going the limit. I didn't get a ticket either time -- and one was in Idaho.

I've fought 10 or so tickets over the years and I've lost every one of them. The only time I came close was the three people in front of me all had their cases dismissed because the cop didn't show up, and lo, my cop didn't either. When I stood up to take my dismissal, the judge said, "I'm not about to dismiss 4 in a row"... And then had me reschedule another time to come back man, I was bent.

Cops have said we can go at least ten over though.

I'd like to take the car speed eyeball calibration test. I get my eyeballs calibrated for enforcement purposes twice per year. I have to be pretty damn confident to hand out a ticket. I suspect cops are way more confident since they do theirs WAY more frequently than I do.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, cops have to read your speed and then have the laser gun verify within 5 mph or something.

 

[LogGrad98]

Cops have said we can go at least ten over though.

I'd like to take the car speed eyeball calibration test. I get my eyeballs calibrated for enforcement purposes twice per year. I have to be pretty damn confident to hand out a ticket. I suspect cops are way more confident since they do theirs WAY more frequently than I do.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, cops have to read your speed and then have the laser gun verify within 5 mph or something.

So they have to read a red LED number then make sure that number is at least within 5 mph of reality? Sounds tough.

Or are you saying they have to see a car pass and guess within 5 the speed it is really travelling? The second one is tougher.

 

[Dr. Jones]

U des erve all the **** u get.. and more.