Traffic Court

I didn't plea with a lawyer. I defended myself and didn't plea guilty to the lesser charge.

Still.. just a >100 fine and court cost... and I'm in the notorious commonwealth of VA.

 

Lowered to what? Almost running a stop sign? Maybe have it lowered to a headlight ticket? If it was speeding and there was no radar run I could see having the charge lowered, but the charge is failure to come to a stop. Either you did it, or you didn't. Pretty simple.

I've never been to court for a traffic violation, but I have seen close to 100 or so traffic violations in my various trips to court. You get the chance to question the officer as mentioned earlier. They usually make a statement somewhat like this to start: "On or around MM/DD/YYYY the driver was seen running a mandatory stop at the intersect of __________ and __________ in a YYYY ________ ________. I stopped the driver at the intersect of _______ and ______. Driver was pleasant did not cause a hassle". It varies a bit depending on the officer, but that's a rough idea. Ask the officer where they were when they saw you, what nautical direction they were facing and why they waited so long to initiate your stop. If they weren't right behind you and they weren't within accurate radar range, you can bring into question how he can be sure you didn't come to a complete stop.

 

Well, this happened back in early October, so I doubt the cop will be present, much less remember what happened. Also, I wouldn't have to plead anything necessarily. Around here, if you decide to fight the ticket, the DA/prosecutor usually offers a lower charge prior to going before the judge, so you normally just plead guilty to that when you go before the judge. This is what I've heard from people I know around here.

And what do you mean by "nautical direction"? I wasn't stopped in a boat.

 

just pay the fine and get it over with. Revenue recovery should allow you to make payments.

 

Well, if I wanted to pay the full fine and receive the full number of points on my license, I would have just pleaded guilty up front and paid my fine through the mail without having to go to court. It would have been less of a hassle, sure, but it would be more of a hassle in the long run to have those points on my license with insurance costs and all. By going to court and fighting it, I at least can have the points, and possibly the fine, reduced.

 

Like the Mad Bomber once said "you can't fight city hall, you can only blow it up, and hope they don't have the will to rebuild"



Hotwater

 

Well by fighing the case, around here anyway, you would have to go back to court at least 3 or 4 more times...resulting in high court costs each time. So it just depends on the court system where you live.

 

Oh my.... I KNEW there was a reason I was online tonight and this was it. I can't stop laughing.

I think he meant navigational direction?

Hah...

 

Just got back from court a little while ago. Man, what a bunch of fucking pricks at that place. Cocky-ass motherfuckers.

Well, I got the charge reduced from 3 points to 2 points. However, I still had to pay a $75 fine, plus the surcharge and court fees, so it came to a total of $130. What a nice birthday gift.

Yup, more of my hard-earned money going back into the corrupt system so they can further fund their police state.

Gotta love America.

 

Yes, I did mean navigational. The damn library computer told me I had two minutes left so I tried to hurry. Nautical, navigational, close enough for my taste.