So i went in today for my traffic court hearing. The ADA comes up to me and offers to reduce the ticket to 14 over from 19 over and i said no. I knew i was in the right because 40-14-9 of the Georgia Code says basically an officer can't use a speed detection device on a 7% or greater incline(which it was). So i was going to prove this with a topographic map. I'm waiting around hoping the officer doesn't show, sure enough he does...uh oh. I get all my stuff together and right before i'm about to be sworn in, the ADA comes over and tells me she's going to make my topo maps inadmissable as evidence because i lack expert testimony to verify the accuracy of the maps. DAMNIT! Specifically, i needed to BRING THE GUY IN WHO WROTE THEM TO TESTIFY IN PERSON?!?! DOUBLE DAMNIT!!!! :dunno . So i argued, the maps were in the public domain as research, just like an atlas you'd get from a library, and you don't need to be an expert to read a topo map (8th grade stuff). But she said it didn't matter and the judge would go with her explanation. So i realized i have no case now. I wanted to fuck with her so i asked if i could get a continuence to find the guy or to use another method to measure the road grade (surveying equipment or a sextant) and she just looked stunned that someone would go through so much trouble to get a speeding ticket thrown out. :wiggle: Anyway, I accepted the plea bargain after she assured me it wont show up on my driving record. $125 dollars down the hole, oh well, was kind of fun and i learned a bit about courts...dont try to match wits with someone who actually went to law school.
damn you still did your homework, nice job. you made them earn there money. that cop will think twice about catching people there now
you always have to try. way to stand up for yourself. i've stated my case, after pleading guilty, and the judge sided in my favor. tell the truth and see where it takes you.
I had a feeling about that, i file my insurance this month, so if it shows up when i call progressive, i can still do an appeal in 30 days, but i have to get an attourney for that $$$
It will show on your record but will carry no points, I had mine reduced a few months back and on my motor vehicle it shows up but has no points applied. Way to make them earn that paycheck...Congrats!
they said it wouldn't be submitted to DMV if it's 14 or under?? dunno if that's correct or not, who knows.
You did the right thing, but she bluffed you on the maps. Only the judge can make that decision, but again you really won. Whenever I have a ticket reduced, the court does not sent it to the state, so no record of it will show.
if those were valid and current maps (and you did your math homework on the incline) then she was full of shit and punked you out. the principle pisses me off, but the trouble of going through all that crap prob isn't worth it. and 19mph over is a bit much
Good try mang. What I've learned is the Judges, prosecuters, clerks and lawyers of all types are usually pretty good friends with each other even though they face each other from opposing sides or whatever and after they do their thing they go get lunch and laugh about how things went. Hell I've seen a private lawyer go right into the county clerks desk when she wasn't there to grab a form or something, and when someone popped in the room, he was just like 'I was just grabbing a form'.... And it's no big deal. Cliffnotes: You're right man these folks are pro's.
At least you gave it the honest effort, but at the end of the day these people are paid to give you tickets
For what it is worth, it cost me $200 to have my lawyer show up in traffic court, but the two times I have used him, I got both tickets dropped.
That's correct..... won't be on your MVR, won't be reported to insurance, won't accrue any points on your license. Wrong. He can't bring in a random map and testify to it being correct. He could've drawn it up the night before for all the judge knows. Only the person who actually performed the survey could testify to it because it's his work. If Ramblin was a surveyor and checked it out himself, that might be different. Someone else said that it's the judge's job to decide whether or not it's admissible, and that's true...... and if the solicitor hadn't spoken up, the judge would've tossed it anyway. You can't testify to someone else's research. I was in an ALS hearing yesterday, and one of the attorneys kept spouting off statistics and percentages concerning the accuracy of certain field sobriety tests and equipment. The judge finally interrupted him and told him that all of his statistics meant absolutely nothing because he could not back them up with case law, valid research, or an expert witness. He was either getting the statistics from a magazine or something, or he was pulling them out of his ass. The prosecutor was trying to cut you a break. You took a simple situation and made it complicated. I am glad that everything worked out for you in the end though.....
so if he had current usgs maps, they would be inadmissable? [edit: nevermind, that would just mean he would have to find the crackhead who made the maps to say he "made the maps". /stupidquestion]
My experience is aligned with bluelinescooby's info. I was clocked at 14 mph and under in a school zone. I was intending on fighting it in court given the placement of signs because I literally didn't know I was in a school zone, saw the cop, checked my speedometer; it was under 35 mph, so I thought I was okay until he pulled me over. In reality, I was a dufuss and the crossing guard that waived to me nicely should have clued me in. In any case, I consulted with a speeding ticket lawyer in GA and his advice, was that I was at the 14 mph and under already, so if I had the funds, just pay the fine. It would ultimately cost you less $$. Under GA law, there are no points on your license nor does it go on the DMV record. That seems to be true because I just got my insurance renewal and it's the same price. I got my ticket in March and mailed in my fine in April 2006. P.S. The lawyer also said the tickets that hurt are reckless driving and/or driving more than 14 mph over the speed limit. In his opinion, if you can get it reduced to only speeding at 14 mph and less, you've come out pretty good in GA.
i agree, i thanked her for bringing it to my attention before i talked to the judge. i think she was cutting me a break because i've had a clean record for 6 years of driving before this.
Well, it all depends on the judge and what the attorneys will agree to. If everyone in the courtroom that day is in agreement that USGS topographical maps are the shit and the standard by which all others are judged, then they may be allowed. But if one party objects, the person who introduced them into evidence would be required to back up the claim that said USGS maps are the shit. This would likely require a whole separate hearing to determine the validity and accuracy of the maps. And yes, it would possibly involve finding the crackhead who made them to begin with...
which is where the humour is found. the govt itself makes those maps. but then the govt would have to trust it's own work, and down the slippery slope we would go. i've yet to get a ticket. but if i do, it would have to be an obscene amount to make it worth my while to fight. unless i was in the mood for dry comedy.
Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead. So if I got a ticket for 18 over and the solicitor offers to reduce the speed to 14 over, then the ticket will not go on my record and my insurance will not be able to find out about my ticket? What record does it go on(ie if I get another ticket what do they look at to realize the ticket is not my first offence)? Thanks
The principle of this pisses me off. The cop took a speed reading a zone he shouldn't have, the little person does his research and finds that out, his evidence is disregarded, he gets charged. I understand the legitimacy of evidence and etc, but the principle that a cop is able to charge someone when he has done something wrong just pisses me off. /rant
here's what actually peeves me off about the whole thing. i'm sure lasers work fine on inclines, no biggie, i was just looking for a loophole to save some cash. But i was tailgating some dude in a truck when he took the reading, which means he said "ooo, big wing, i'm gonna eat ya", after he lasered the dude in front of me.
i understand your frustration. last weekend on 400s my brother leaves like 5 min. before me driving his black rsx that is completely stock. well long story short i was pulled over doing 85 in a 65 and the next day my brother tells me that the same cop just flashed his lights to tell him to slow down and he was doind 90 when he went by the same cop. the cop just saw my scoop and wing and heard loud exhaust and said oooh im gonna get ya. i feel your pain! good luck with everything
It's even more frustrating when you have people in obscene trucks that get treated like the norm, whilst small economical jap cars that look like fun get fucked in the ear. Is it just the South?
guess i have been lucky so far... i haven't been unnecessarily harassed by cops... if i was ever pulled over, i was doing something wrong and i deserved it
Nice try but Bluelinescooby is correct...I have played this game forever and usually win and did so 5 times last year but I only look for a reduction to 14 over. As was said earlier no points is all that really matters! Any more you may just piss them off. They did not have to come back and offer you the plea deal. Ask me how I know, I once would not take NO for an answer, but that was in the late 90's.
it seems like $125 would have been enough for a lawyer and then you could have not even got the ticket. they would have seen that coming or at least figured another way to go about it. props for the stand alone effort though. i tried that once and got screwed anyway too.
People in obscene trucks are fun too, cuz you can break out the tape measure and write tickets for equipment violations on the big jacked up trucks. And every kid with an S10 "show truck" has mirror-tinted windows and a frenched license plate. Besides, I don't really think that a WRX can be considered a "small economical jap car" any longer...... it's still a compact car, but I would define it as more of a sport sedan...... just to nit pick, sorry
I have 6 tickets and my record is still clean... I have 1 wreckless driving, 2 Too fast for conditions, 1 25mph over speeding, failure to maintain lane, and an expired tags ticket. It pays to get a good attourney, and one that is friends with all the DAs and Judges at that!
That guy must love you. I guess it comes down to wanting a clean record and having the money to keep it clean.
I've known him for a few years, and I haven't paid him anything more than court costs. My girlfried just babysits his kids for free whenever I get a ticket So... basically.... she pays for my mistakes... shit, I feel bad now